A Change of Plans
by Fairy Roses
Summary: COMPLETE! Since my favorite couple won't appear in the books, I'm turning this story in a different direction! Draco and Hermione WILL be together! This takes place years after school. The real summary is inside. Please rr.
1. Time for a Reunion

Obviously, after reading the sixth book, this will never happen. This is for Draco/Hermione lovers everywhere who want to see their favorite couple together.

Disclaimer: Regardless of the fact that I absolutely love Ms. Rowling, her characters, and the world she created... I'm going to, er, borrow all of that and make it go my own way! I don't own anything.

Summary: Hermione thought she had it all together, she thought it was perfect; she had a decent job, a career goal, a home, and she was in love. So what happened to make that change? Life happened, and it took her in the unexpected direction of a new career, a new home, and a new love interest. Her different lifestyle evolves rapidly, leaving little time for adjustment. Can Hermione keep up?

A Change of Plans

Prologue: Time For a Reunion

Hermione sat in a comfy chair in her apartment. With the invading light from the open window she read the large book settled on her lap. Crookshanks lounged on the sill and they both enjoyed the occasional breeze that floated through the window. It was another hot day in their stuffy New Yok City apartment, and Hermione desperately wished for air-conditioning. Her bushy hair was wrapped around her wand, somewhat off her neck although multiple strands of brown clung to her face.

The phone rang loudly from the bedroom followed by a scream. Hermione checked the page number (258), closed the book, and pulled off her glasses as another ring sounded. The bedroom door opened and Hermione watched with amusement as Ron stumbled over to hand her the telephone.

"Damn felly-tone. I hate all this muggle stuff," he grumbled as he handed the shreiking device to Hermione.

"'Ello? Hey! I was just thinking of calling you... Oh? Oh... Okay... Yeah, I'll be over in a bit. Thanks." Hermione clicked the phone off.

Ron stared at her blankly. His tousled red hair and puffy eyes told Hermione he'd just woken up. Without a word, he turned around and made his way to the bathroom.

"Good morning to you, too, sweetheart," Hermione whispered with a smile. Page 258... she replaced her glasses and read up to the end of the chapter before she set _Studies of Arithmancy_ aside. After a few minutes of tidying the small room, she followed Ron.

By the time she reached the bathroom, he had already showered and was now brushing his teeth. He looked at Hermione through the mirror.

"Sorry," Ron said after he spit. "I forgot to turn that fan thing on."

"It's okay," Hermione assured him with a smile. It was hot in the humid air, but the redness of her face was for another reason. While Ron continued with his grooming procedures, Hermione couldn't help but admire his well-built body from the doorway.

"Why did the felly-tone wake me up this morning?"

"Huh... Oh! That was Sandra. They finally recieved the ingredients to make a medicine for Crookshanks, and I have to go pick them up."

"Do you need me to go with you?"

"No. I need you to stay here with Crookshanks."

"All you have to do is pick up a few ingredients. He'll be fine."

"Sorry, but she said she needed to talk to me about a few things, so you'll just have to stay."

"He hates me. You know he does."

Hermione smiled coyly and moved closer to Ron. "But I love you, so will you do this for me?"

He wrapped his arms around her and bent down to kiss her. "I guess Crookshanks and I could spend another morning glaring at each other from opposite sides of the apartment. Of course, he gets the cooler side. After all, he's the one who pays half the rent."

"You know that the entire apartment could be cool if we got an air conditioner," she teased.

"And you know that I don't want all of that muggle stuff in here."

"We'll talk about that later," Hermione stated as she shooed him out of the bathroom. She pulled the wand from her hair and turned the shower water on.

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"But he'll be okay, though, right?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"If he stays on his medications, keeps a healthy diet, and doesn't just lay around all day he'll be just fine. Don't worry, Hermione. He just has the common symptoms of old age. He's about thirteen now, right? Crookshanks is getting up there in years, and he's actually relatively healthy."

Hermione calmed down a bit. "He'll be okay?"

"Yes. He will be," Sandra declared firmly, holding Hermione's hands.

"Okay."

Hermione thanked Sandra and left with a loud crack in the quiet building.

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"Alright, Crookshanks. I don't like you, and you don't like me. So, what are we going to do about that?" Ron asked from his seat.

Crookshanks flicked the end of his tail. It seemed to Ron that he was saying, in that silent yet mocking cat language, 'Stupid git. I'm deaf. I can't hear you.' Ron could almost picture Crookshanks covering his ears and singing, 'lalalala, I can't hear you, lalalala.'

"Right. You sit there, blocking the only air circulating in this room with your hugeness, and I'll sit here, watching you do it." Ron sighed. Hermione had been gone for nearly fifteen minutes. She should be on her way home soon. The good thing about being a wizard in a city full of mostly muggles was that one rarely waited in lines.

Ron, mesmerized by Crookshanks' stare, barely noticed when a tiny object flew through the bit of open window above the ginger cat. Only when the thing collided with his head did Ron acknowledge Pigwidgeon's presence.

"Finally. I sent you to mum's over a week ago. I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost again!" The excited little owl twittered madly in Ron's hand. Pig, at least, hadn't changed in all of these years. "What've you got there?" Ron untied a piece of parchment and read over the neat handwriting.

_Dear Ron and Hermione,  
__I'm glad to hear that things are going well for you. Things here aren't too terrible, but I think I'm going to go crazy in such a quiet house! I'll tell you, I'm just not used to it. Ginny and your father are here, of course, but Arthur's usually working, and Ginny rarely makes a sound!  
__Well, soon enough I'll have another grandchild to help take care of. Charlie's wife is doing wonderfully, by the way, and Sara can't wait to have a new baby brother or sister. They're thinking of moving back home for the summer holiday so the baby will be born here. Bill and Fleur just found out that they'll be having number three, and Billy's barely even a year old. Fred and Padma have been talking about children, as well as George and Parvatti. Could you imagine? Percy seems to think he's too busy to deal with such matters. That leaves you and Ginny. I would love for Ginny to find someone. She's become a very pretty young lady. She insists, however, that she needs to stay home to keep me company.  
__Have you made any plans for marraige yet? It'll be something to keep in mind. Hermione, one day you'll make a beautiful bride. And when you do eventually have children, remember to bring them here often!  
__How does that sound? What a wonderful family we're growing into. In fact, how would you like to come and visit us? I'll invite Bill, Fleur and the kids, Charlie, Gina and Sara, Percy and Penelope, the twins (all four of them) and maybe I shall have to extend an invitation to Harry? I haven't seen him in such a long time. I hear, however, that he's becoming quite the auror. I hope he's doing well.  
__Let me know if you'd like to come back for a visit, and I'll tell you the date as soon as I can find one that's agreeable with everybody. Have fun, and take care!  
__Mum  
__P.S. I'm sorry about keeping Pig for so long. His presence was greatly appreciated here and I wouldn't let him leave until I finished this letter._

Ron sighed. He was glad to hear from his mother. He hadn't seen her in months since they moved. Ron and Hermione had busy schedules, and were lucky when they both had the same day off. That didn't occur very often since Hermione worked in one of the only wizard libraries in this city (until she could find a something better) and Ron was an auror.

Harry had also become an auror, but he decided to stay and work in London. Things seemed to have changed so much without any of them realizing it. Before they knew it, their lives were taking them all in different directions, even Ron and Hermione. Although they lived together now, they weren't as close as they had been.

Ron snapped away from his reveries when Hermione made her presence known with a loud popping noise.

"Hermione, look," Ron handed the parchment to her as Pig attacked her head. "Mum sent us a letter. She wants to have a family gathering."

Her eyes grew huge and a wide grin spread across her face as she skimmed the letter. "Ron, get back to her as soon as possible! I can't wait to see everybody again. I wonder how Harry's been."

Almost as if on cue, a snowy white owl flew through the open window.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed when Hedwig nearly took off an ear. "Can't you animals leave my head alone?"

Hermione retrieved the parchment from Hedwig's foot and opened it carefully. ((I'd love to make her say, "It's from Harry!" But... that'd be a bit out of character.)) She read aloud:

_Ron and Hermione,  
__Your mum sent me an invitation to some kind of family reunion, and I realized I hadn't seen you in a really long time. We should get together before the gathering, all three of us, it'll be just like old times. I'll set up some kind of transportation so I can be there within the next few days, whether you like it or not. Keep Hedwig until I get there, please.  
__I'm looking forward to it.  
__Harry_

Hermione's hands were shaking with excitement when she finished the note. "Ron! Harry's coming! Harry's coming to visit!"

Ron, just as thrilled, grabbed Hermione into a tight hug and swung her around. Minutes of reminiscing passed before Ron noted the small package Hermione had dropped.

"The ingredients," Hermione stated solemnly. She explained her trip to Sandra's. "I forgot about that. Ron," she faced him with a deeply apologetic and regretting face, "I can't leave him here. You'll have to tell everybody I said 'Hi' and let them know I'm alright. I can't leave Crookshanks, and he's in no condition to travel."

The enthusiasm drained from Ron's face. "Hermione, you're going. You have to. We'll find a sitter for him, or something. C'mon! This is family we're going to go visit. We'll go see your mum and dad, too. Hermione, you can't not go!"

"What do you want me to do, Ron? Crookshanks won't be up for a trip, and I can't just leave him here!"

"Maybe Sandra will watch him?"

"I couldn't ask her to do that," Hermione began before the door to their apartment flew open. Startled, Ron drew his wand from his back pocket. (The door was always locked, and they rarely had visitors.)

The figure in the doorway coughed as it stepped into the room, shaking dust from his body. Ron and Hermione were too flustered to say anything, so the intruder at the door spoke first. Hermione tackled him.

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A/N: Dun dun DUNNNNN. I'm done. Mwahaha. Who could it be sneaking into their New York City apartment? Not really sneaking, I suppose, seeing as he used the door... More chapters to come! Let me know what you thought of this. Yes, it starts out as Hermione/Ron because that seems like the logical pairing, but it will end up changing to Hermione/Draco because let's face it, I'm not logical! Continue reading to find out how it changes, why it changes and such.

Please review! I'll welcome flames as well, seeing as my house gets extremely cold this time of year.


	2. Old Friends

Hey there! Sorry, this chapter's a bit... slow, I think. Just a bit of talk of what has transpired since their years at Hogwarts.

Disclaimer: Er... I still don't own anything... I'm thinking these things are stupid after the first chapter. Oh well! The disclaimer shall stay, if just for kicks and giggles.

Chapter 1: Old Friends

The figure in the doorway coughed as it stepped into the room, shaking dust from his body. Ron and Hermione were too flustered to say anything, so the intruder at the door spoke first.

"Hey, guys."

Hermione tackled him. "Harry!" Not ready for the attack, Harry stumbled backward into the hallway until he was able to regain his balance enough to return Hermione's hug. "When... How... Where?" Hermione had a million questions to ask but couldn't make up her mind which to ask first. They backed away from each other as Ron came up to them.

"What she means to say is welcome, mate," Ron, towering over Harry, clapped him on the shoulder before pulling him into an embrace. "I thought you were coming in a few days. That's what your note said."

Hedwig flew over to rest on Harry's shoulder, nibbling his ear affectionately. "Yeah, that. I sent the note out a few days ago," he admitted, blushing slightly. "I guess I forgot about the distance between us and all. Am I going to be a burden since you weren't expecting me?"

"Not at all!" Hermione assured him excitedly. "You'll have to deal with sleeping on the couch with Crookshanks, but I think you'll survive."

Harry laughed. "I lived in a closet for ten years. A couch won't bother me." Not much had changed about Harry. He was, thin, much shorter than Ron (like most other people) with black hair that couldn't be tamed, gorgeous green eyes, but now he carried a light-heartedness that neither Hermione nor Ron had seen in years.

Ron grabbed Harry's bag from the hallway, shut and locked the door, and carried the bag to the couch. "Was the door locked when you came in?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It was, I just didn't knock," Harry held up his wand. "I could hear you two in here, and just thought I'd help myself in." He shrugged.

"How did you get here?" she asked, brushing off one of his shoulders. "Come down the chimney?"

"Almost," Harry laughed. "Floo powder. I requested a network to open to this building. Of course, I didn't realize the fireplace would be in the basement and your room was on the eighth floor. Is the man in the office downstairs a wizard?"

"Yes, he is. Mostly muggles live here, of course, but he makes it so a few wizards can stay here without raising much suspicion." Hermione informed him. "There aren't any muggles living on this floor, nor the seventh."

"Right, then. Now for the tour of our lovely home," Ron began without the slightest bit of sarcasm. "That corner's where we keep a fridge, sink, phone and take-out menues."

Hermione rolled her eyes. In her opinion, the kitchen wasn't too bad. Plus, it was NOT a corner. It was a room.

"That door there leads to the loo and we have a shower in there too. It's... nice. Anyway," he said pointing to the next door. "That's where we keep our bed, clothes and stuff, as well as the place that we like to-" Hermione elbowed him in the side. "Hey! I was going to say sleep. Honestly," she gave him a knowing look. He ignored it. "Finally, you're standing in our living room where we do everything from eat, read, fight, order food, as well as the same thing we do in our-" Ron recieved another elbow. "I was going to say sleep!"

Harry seemed to find it all rather amusing as he enjoyed being with his friends again. They still bickered! Some things never change. Ron also seemed to enjoy making Hermione blush.

The apartment was tiny, but it was comfortable enough. Ron and Harry took a seat on the couch while Hermione sat in her comfy chair. Crookshanks flopped onto her lap and Hermione pet him, careful to avoid his arthritis. Ron told Harry that he enjoyed working, but said little else about his job. Hermione talked about working in the wizard library with only two other women. They were often busy, being one of the only libraries around the world that still held many of the banned spell, potion, and research books. She told a few short stories, then waited eagerly to hear how Harry had been all this time.

"I've kept busy. I'm living in Grimmauld Place now. Lupin stays there with me when he doesn't have a job. He's been organizing a Werewolf Awareness Information... Thing. Something along those lines. He's trying to make that Wolfsbane Potion (like what Snape made for him) available to all werewolves who register as werewolves. It's a difficult potion to make, so he's appealing to the ministry by stating that having it made specially could offer more jobs to wizards. Lupin's been trying to convince people that as long as it monitored, lycanthropy won't be dangerous."

"That must be very difficult for him. Not many people would be willing to risk that. I hope it works out for him, though."

"So do I," Harry agreed with Hermione. Silence followed.

"So, how's the place looking?"

"A lot better, actually. Dobby's living with me, now. I pay him in sickles and socks," Harry added after a reproachful look from Hermione. "Dobby doesn't complain. He likes living there. The only problem is that I seem to lose some clothes when he does the laundry."

They went on like this for another hour; laughing, joking, talking about old times but not mentioning much about what they've done recently. Ron said little about his job, even when it was just he and Hermione, Harry didn't seem to want to talk about himself, and Hermione knew that neither of them would be interested in the happenings of the library. Instead, they dwelled on the past and wondering how their old friends were doing.

"It's going to be great when we're all back home. I haven't been to visit your mum in ages."

Ron pointed to Hermione. "She doesn't think she'll be going."

"What?"

"Well..." Hermione started, "Crookshanks isn't doing very well, and I didn't want to just leave him here.

"Hermione, you can't not go! This is family we'll be seeing," Harry pleaded softly. "Can't you find somebody to cat-sit for him?"

"I might be able to ask my friend, Sandra, to watch him," she said thoughtfully. "I don't think she'd mind."

"Wait!" Ron yelled. "Didn't I just suggest the same thing before Harry got here?"

Hermione smiled. "Well, Harry was being nice about it. _You_ were yelling at me."

The following dispute was interrupted when Harry proposed sending an owl to Mrs. Weasly to let her know a good time for them.

"We'll have to think about that tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be able to take off work," Ron stated.

Hermione agreed. "I'll have to find a substitute to train, or something. We'll figure it out. For now, I'm hungry. Harry, have you eaten lunch yet?"

"Only about six hours ago," he confessed. "This is almost like time travel." Hermione and Harry shared a quick glance and smiles.

"Never again," she vowed. "Time is a tricky thing to deal with."

Harry nodded in agreement.

Ron, feeling out of the loop, directed the subject to lunch. "What would you like to eat? We could go out."

"Sounds great."

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Hermione grabbed her clothes from the closet, careful not to wake up Ron yet. She hurried to get dressed, and put some gel and hairspray into her hair. Hermione gently shook Ron until he grunted that he was awake. She left the room. Harry was sleeping on the couch under the scornful eyes of Crookshanks. ("You can share," Hermione whispered to the cat.) On her way out the door she left a note telling Harry that he could visit her if he got bored today along with directions to the library.

The elevator took Hermione down to the ground floor and, from there, she maneuvered into the busy streets. From her purse she pulled a clip to keep her damp hair back. She hurried with the rest of the crowd until she finally made it to the alley. As a habit, Hermione checked behind her before tapping the boarded door with her wand. It transformed into a normal door which she walked through quickly before it changed back. The smell of books greeted her on the other side. She pointed her wand at the ceiling and hundreds of candles lit up the enourmous rooms.

On the front desk was a note from Ellie with a list of several reference books. It directed Hermione to have the books ready to be picked up by noon today. She read over the list. There was an unsettled feeling in her stomach as she read the titles. They were assorted reference books all dealing with the Dark Arts. At the bottom of the note, Ellie advised Hermione to _find all the books, but remember the person who comes in for them._

Once more Hermione looked at the long list, then at her watch. Five hours to find (she counted quickly) twenty-four books. She had a busy morning ahead of her.

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Ron groaned as he rolled out of bed. By the time he could stand on his own two feet, Hermione had already left. Harry was sleeping when Ron went to the kitchen to grab something to eat. After the third dropped pan, Ron was joined in his mission to prepare breakfast by groggy Harry. One spilt cup of milk, an excess of pepper, and two broken eggs later, Harry and Ron decided each to grab a bagel.

"When do you have to leave?" Harry asked after swallowing a bit of orange juice.

"Nawtill a," Ron answered with half of the bagel in his mouth. He repeated, in clear normal English, "Not till eight."

After they finished their breakfasts, Harry inquired what Ron usually did as an auror.

He blushed slightly. "I'm not actually... an auror, so to speak. Mostly, I work with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Harry thought for a moment. "You're a Hit Wizard?"

"Yeah. Not quite the same as being an auror, but, it's close enough. I haven't told anybody that yet, not even Hermione. I'm not sure why... It's not like I'm embarrassed about it."

"You shouldn't be."

"I'm not... but I had every intention of becoming an auror. It just happened, though, that here in New York, I have a better chance of advancing as a Hit Wizard. There aren't as many here as the Department would like, and they seemed eager to hire me, so I'm actually doing much better than I would if I would have become an auror."

"Why not just tell Hermione?"

Ron shook his head. "I'm not sure. I just don't want it to seem like I took the easy way out of this, or something like that. I don't know. Just... don't mention it to her?"

The only difference between the two was Hit Wizards primarily captured criminals, whereas aurors tracked down and captured Dark Wizards. Harry saw no shame in Ron's decision, but he promised to mention nothing to Hermione.

"Thanks, mate." Ron left Harry to clean up the mess in the kitchen. (Easy enough with _scourgify._) He found the note left by Hermione and decided he'd visit her around lunchtime. Exhausted from the time difference, as well as staying up to talk to Ron and Hermione, Harry flopped on the couch to rest a bit longer. In a few minutes, he was fast asleep.

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A/N: Yeah... that's enough of that. It seemed like I couldn't find the right place to stop writing, and it wasn't too entertaining. Sorry about that one. Don't worry. I promise the next chapter will be much better! I hope...

Thanks for reviewing! Madnutterfan (Not a fan of cliffies, eh? I like your name, by the way. Nutter. Heh.), Chrisi-Lynn (Thank you!), kristina (Yeah... don't ask where the moving to New York thing came from. It just... happened? Haha, I had no control over it. My muse decided that was the way it was going to be. Won't last long, though. We'll be back in the U.K. soon enough.), SmilinStar (Thanks! I have a unique writing style... I hope that's good. And, yeah, I agree. It doesn't make sense when it doesn't take long for those two to get together... They've been 'enemies' for so long, it would take a bit for it to happen. But it WILL happen! In my story, at least...).


	3. Preparations

It took a while to update, I realize, and I'm sure you're all very upset about that. (What sarcasm?) Lots of excuses, main one being school, other than that... I'm just lazy. With the lazy thing, this chapter ain't perfect. I didn't re-read it my normal bajillion times, only once, so don't expect excellent grammar and such. Sorry... Maybe I'll proofread it more thoroughly someday. (Lies to you)

Disclaimer: The character "Elizabeth Catriona Leigh Geist" is the name of my friend, but modified a bit. She's appearing in this chapter, kinda, just because. I got her permission! As you're all well aware of, I own nothing.

Chapter 2: Preparations

Hermione climbed down from the ladder with a large book tucked under her arm. She took it back to the front desk and crossed its name from her list. She was halfway there, with only two hours till noon.

"Good morning!" Came a voice behind Hermione. She turned to see a girl, not much younger than herself, walking toward her.

"Oh, good morning, Elizabeth."

The girl smiled. "How are you?" There was a hint of a Scottish accent in her voice, but it wasn't as thick as it once must have been.

"Busy, actually."

"Would you like me to help you?" Elizabeth asked eagerly.

She was about to refuse her help but thought twice about it. "Actually, that'd be great. I have to find twelve books," Hermione showed her the list.

Elizabeth read over them. "They're all about the Dark Arts," she remarked quietly. "Shouldn't they all be in the same area?"

Hermione shook her head. "I wish it would be that simple, but not for books containing information about the Dark Arts. They have to be separated, almost hidden. You have to know where to look in order to find them. Ellie, Rosie, and I are the only people who know where they are in this place. It's a type of security thing so that we may monitor who reads these books. If you're still willing to help me, then I'll tell you where to find a few."

"Of course!"

She knew Elizabeth wouldn't object. The very first time Hermione met her she expressed her love of books and her desire to work in the library. Eventually, Elizabeth told her, she planned to open her own bookstore.

Hermione remembered the day they met. She introduced herself as 'Elizabeth Catriona Leigh Geist. Me mum's Scottish, and me da was German. He passed away before I was born, but mum and I kept his name. I was born in Scotland, but we moved to America when I was a wee lass.' It was always the same introduction, no matter who she met. Something Hermione knew came from years of reciting. The true extent of her Scottish accent shone through when she introduced herself.

Elizabeth came to the library often, curious about many things. She might have read more than Hermione, even, and always wanted to learn more. Of course Elizabeth would agree to aid in her quest, but Hermione had another plan for the girl. She had in mind an offer for Elizabeth that she was willing to bet couldn't be refused.

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Harry swatted at his head as he tried to force his eyes open. The blurry figure of a certain chipper owl came into view. Rubbing his eyes, Harry sat up and put his glasses on. It was uncomfortably hot in the apartment. He got up to open the window only to find it being guarded by Crookshanks.

"You're blocking the air," Harry said groggily before collapsing on the couch once more. He looked at the clock, unable to comprehend the time, but knowing it wasn't quite lunchtime yet. "Five," he yawned, "more... minutes..."

Harry fell asleep once again. Peering at him, Hedwig gracefully flew over to the couch. With a practiced movement, she snatched Harry's glasses from his face and set them aside. She returned to her perch and fell into her own (almost) peaceful slumber. Pig was an odd owl... Enthusiastic during the day, yet still hyper at night (unfortunately for everybody who lived with him.)

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"Well, that's the last of them!" Elizabeth declared triumphantly.

Hermione was extremely grateful for the help. "Thank you so much, I have no idea how I would have gotten all of this done without you."

Elizabeth blushed. "No problem, I rather enjoyed it, actually." A wistful look appeared in her eyes. "I'd really love to work in a library."

A knowing smile made its way onto Hermione's lips. "That's exactly what I thought," she cleared her throat. "It's been so long since I've been home," Hermione stated, arranging the books in separate piles. "I received a letter from Ron's mother just yesterday inviting us to spend at least a week with them. The only problem is, they live in England, and I just couldn't leave Ellie and Rosie to take care of this place for so long."

As Hermione expected, Elizabeth's expression brightened with every word.

"How would you like for me to train you for, maybe, two weeks? That should be enough time. You'll be paid, of course, you'd gain experience in working with books, and you'd also be doing me a huge favor."

Before Hermione even finished all she had planned to say, Elizabeth interrupted her with her thrilled agreement.

"Thank you so much, Elizabeth. This really means a lot to me."

"It means a lot to me, too!" She declared happily. "If it's not too much trouble, would you like to begin training me today?"

Hermione expected no less from her. "Of course."

"Great!" She became silent. "Wait, maybe today isn't the best of days to begin. I have to meet a friend for lunch. When would be a good time for you?"

"How about tomorrow?"

"Sure!" She checked her watch. "I suppose I should leave now if I'm to meet her in half an hour."

"Have fun, and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Bye, Hermione," she gave her a hug and turned to leave.

Hermione waved good-bye and went to sit at her desk. A few people came up to her to ask where to find certain books. She replied immediately, pointing them in the right direction.

A few minutes later, Elizabeth came rushing back inside, a bit out of breath. "Hermione! The person who's picking up those books is here! And, oh my gosh, he's gorgeous!"

"Oh, is that right?" Hermione asked, pretending to fix her hair as if she cared about her appearance.

She laughed. "Stop it! He seemed very polite when he asked at the front door where he could pick up the books."

"Didn't it occur to him that he should come to the front desk?" Hermione asked wryly.

"Well, maybe it should have, but he doesn't seem to be from around here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lunch date," Elizabeth winked before leaving.

Hermione smiled to herself. Elizabeth was single, always on the lookout for her knight-in-shining-armor. Hermione wished her good luck in finding him. She thought about her own situation. While Ron was a wonderful friend, and she loved him dearly, he wasn't quite Prince Charming. She had to admit, though, she wouldn't change one thing about him.

From somewhere Hermione could hear a thick Scottish accent. "Elizabeth Catriona Leigh Geist. Me mum's Scottish, and me da was German. He passed away before I was born, but mum and I kept his name. I was born in Scotland, but we moved to America when I was a wee lass," Hermione grinned.

"It's nice to meet you," a voice, oddly familiar, answered.

"May I ask your name?"

The stranger's reply nearly made Hermione choke on her breath.

"Draco Malfoy."

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Finally conscious, Harry got ready to meet his friends for lunch. He showered, changed, tidied up the room a bit, fed Hedwig and Pigwidgeon, nearly got his hand bitten off when he tried to feed Crookshanks, and left the apartment. He conversed for a while with the wizard on the first floor to ask for directions around town. The man gave him map of 'Wizard New York City' which operated, in a way, similar to the Marauder's Map. The difference being, it only showed one dot on the map marked, "You Are Here."

Harry smiled as he merged into the crowded sidewalks. No offense to Hermione, but he just could not understand her directions.

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"The front desk is right in there."

"Thank you."

Hermione couldn't believe it. Her old nemesis, Draco Malfoy, the one person she thought she would never see again, was coming to borrow books from her library. What was worse, they were books about the Dark Arts. That made Hermione feel uneasy. She knew the Malfoy mansion had been cleared of most of the 'questionable' items found during one of the ministry's inspections. They must have confiscated most of their books.

Elizabeth had said he was gorgeous, and Hermione watched him as he came in. He was tall, not quite as tall as Ron, but definitely taller than Harry. His complection was, as always, pale, but there was something different about him. It couldn't have been his hair, it was still the same white-blonde color it had always been. It was long, but not quite shoulder length, and looked nice. Speaking of shoulders, his had broadened since she'd last seen him. He had a more solid build now. He had the same pointed features which made him look, in a way, distinguished. Hemione couldn't help but think he was...

...He was repulsive. The arrogant way in which he carried himself, the cold expression on his face, and his overall superior feeling brought back the worst of Hermione's memories. Elizabeth had come back nearly drooling over the way he looked, but Hermione couldn't make herself see it. He was still the despicable, little prat she'd always known.  
With his usual conceited air about him, he approached the front desk. She stared at him icily.  
He cleared his throat. "I sent an owl with a list of books," he acknowledged the piles of reference books stacked on the desk. "Are they all here?"  
"Yes, they are. However, they are not allowed to leave the library." Hermione's tone was professional, but not necessarily mean.  
"What?" He asked indignantly.  
"I can't allow any reference books to leave the library," Hermione stated firmly.  
A bit of his composure was lost. "Then what was the point in finding all of them?"  
It was clear he hadn't recognized her. If he would have, Hermione was almost positive he would have had something vulgar to say. This bit of knowledge gave her the urge to provoke him as much as possible.  
"We can make copies of them. You just aren't allowed to take the original books out." Standing up, she grabbed a bit of parchment and placed it on the desk. With a tap of her wand, words appeared. "Sign here, please," Hermione indicated the bottom line.

He scanned the writing quickly, grabbed a quill from the desk, and signed his name in a quick scrawl. When he finished, she took the quill and signed her own name in large, loopy letters. She tapped the parchment, making two identical contracts. One, she handed to Draco, and the other was placed in a drawer. He placed his copy directly into his pocket without looking at it.

While the deal with signing the parchments happened, the books made copies of themselves. "There you go, Mr. Malfoy," Hermione pointed to the replications.

"If I get a copy, why not just lend out the original books?"

"First of all, they're reference books. Secondly, the copies are unable to be reduplicated. Finally, they'll disappear in a mere two weeks. That is why we lend out copies, not the originals."

Surprisingly enough, a smirk crept to his lips and his eyes grew amused. "You always were a know-it-all, Granger. Some things never change."

Okay, so, maybe he did recognize her. "Ms. Granger, if you please. Some things never change, you're right. You're still involved in the Dark Arts. Isn't that rather interesting, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Draco, if you please. Otherwise, I have my reasons," he informed her smugly. "I suppose I'll be back in two weeks to borrow these books again. See you then, _Ms._ Granger," he waved as he exited the building.

Less than five minutes after the departure of her old enemy, Harry and Ron showed up. Rosie came in to allow Hermione a lunch break. The trio went to lunch together, and Hermione mentioned nothing of her encounter with Draco Malfoy.

At the diner, they saw Elizabeth and her friend. Elizabeth invited them to join her.

"This is my friend, Lynn," she informed them all. Her direction turned to Harry. "Elizabeth Catriona Leigh Geist. Me mum's Scottish, and me da was German. He passed away before I was born, but mum and I kept his name. I was born in Scotland, but we moved to America when I was a wee lass." Finally, she recognized the red head with a warm smile. "Nice to see you again, Ron."

"Nice to see you too, Elizabeth. Er, this is Harry Potter. Hermione and I went to school with him."

"Nice to meet you," Harry offered politely.

It turned out that Lynn was a muggle-born witch, like Hermione, and they all had a lot to talk about. Elizabeth and Lynn had gone to the same wizarding school, Lynn had just begun teaching Astronomy at that school, and several other topics were discussed before they needed to leave.

Within a week, Ron wrote back to his mother and she replied quickly, Hermione trained Elizabeth, Harry and Ron both took off for a week or so, Sandra agreed to keep Crookshanks, Harry set up the floo network to connect to the apartment building, and they were finally ready to go visit. Harry went first, followed by Ron.

Hermione was left there to stand and confront the fireplace. Why did she hesistate? Being there, she felt that her entire life was about to change, but she couldn't rationalize the feeling. She was going to visit her family, for Merlin's sake. What drastic life-change could possibly come of that? Feeling silly about her apprehension, Hermione stepped into the fireplace. Little did she know, the whirling feeling she was about to experience would be nothing compared to the whirlwind of events that would soon affect her life.

----------

Finally finished with that one! Haha. Liz is gonna kill me for making her say Draco is gorgeous. She detests him... Oh well, I doubt she'll read this anyway, so I'll be alive for a bit longer! Hope you liked it. I figured I had to introduce Mr. Malfoy sometime soon. Please review! As always, flames are welcome.

Thanks for reviewing! slyswn28, (Thank you!) the former Yami Rose, (Yeah, creepy! Another similarity is LotR. Er, I found you by looking under titles for "change of plan," in case you were wondering. ...No. I'm not a stalker. Thanks for reading my story!) Princess Faye, (Thank you!) and SmilinStar (Er... yeah. Long time, no update. Let's see how many excuses I can make up... Uh, school, I've been upset lately, the monkey stole my homework and fed it to the dog, etc. Er... Blame Mary Shelley's _Frankenstein!_ Silly book. I didn't even read the entire thing, so why did it take me nearly three weeks to 'finish' it? I've no clue. Had to write a big paper on it, though. Oh my gosh! Frankenstein talks about the philosipher's stone, AND the elixir of life! Hmm, I wonder how badly I did on that paper.)


	4. An Interesting Proposal

I'm sorry this took so long! Well, sorta sorry, does that count? Er... Liz tried to kill me? Er, yeah! that's it! Like I thought, Liz didn't agree with me making her character call Draco 'gorgeous' and she... tried to kill me? xlistens to consciencex Fine, that didn't happen. I'm just lazy.

Now I'll wow you with my singing talents. xsnortx "There's a carrot top who can barely walk/ With a sippy cup of milk/ A litle blue-eyed blonde with shoes on wrong/ 'Cause she likes to dress herself..." Enough of that. I think I made my family's ears bleed. Anyway, a cookie to anybody who can identify that song! Well... sorta a cookie. You'll see later why it's here. I don't own the song or anything, but I drew inspiration from it. Sam, you don't count! No sorta cookie for you!

Disclaimer: Good news! I just bought everything dealing with Harry Potter, all the legal whatnots, and I'm the official owner of Harry Potter... xsnores, wakes upx ...huh? Ugh... mine, mine, mine... xsnorex ...huh? Oh, these things... I don't own anything. Let me pretend I do. zzzzzzzzz...

Chapter 3: An Interesting Proposal

Hermione found herself surrounded by Ron's already huge, yet still growing, family. After living with only Ron for so long, she welcomed the extra amount of people. Carefully, Hermione scanned the familiar setting. The Burrow. It looked exactly how she remembered it, except for several added pictures of the family of course. It felt great to be this close to home.

Everybody was here, too. Bill and Fleur doted upon their two kids, Charlie and Gina were busy entertaining Sara, Percy and Penelope were discussing something undoubtedly important, Fred and George were bothering their parents as Parvatti and Padma made an effort to greet everybody, then there was Ron who tried to recruit Harry to help him move out all of his old Quiddich things. Everybody was here, yet Hermione couldn't find...

Suddenly, she was tugged into a forceful embrace. "Hermione!" Squealed her attacker.

"Ginny!" Hermione replied. The red-headed girl let go long enough for them to look each other over. "Look at how grown up you are!" Hermione remarked about Ginny's increased loveliness and maturity.

"No, not you too," the younger girl whined. "I'd expect that from Bill or Charlie, but you? We're almost the same age! _You_ shouldn't comment on how I've grown."

"Sorry, Ginny. It's just that I haven't seen you in such a long time! Even before Ron and I moved to New York."  
With pretend annoyance, Ginny rolled her eyes. "I guess that makes it acceptable," she winked. "So how have you been?"

Hermione told Ginny all about New York City; the stores, the muggles, the wizards, her job, her new friends, her home, and everything else imaginable. "And you're never going to believe who I saw last week at work," Hermione whispered, a shadow crossing her dark eyes.

Ginny's smile faded instantly. "_He_ came to _your_ library? In _New York City_? I know he still lives over here, so why did he go so far out of his way?"

"The Dark Arts," she replied simply. "Our library is the only one that still carries most volumes about that subject. They've been banned everywhere else."

"Did you tell Ron or Harry?"

"No."

Ginny thought for a moment. "He was looking for information on the Dark Arts," she repeated uneasily. "Hermione, I don't like that," she pulled her friend outside where their conversation wouldn't be overheard.

"I didn't like it much, either. I gave him a hard time about it, thinking he hadn't recognized me."

"Did he?"

"He did."

Ginny blushed. "Despite the fact that it's... _him_," she averted her eyes. "Did you happen to think he was... attractive?" She looked up hopefully only to see the shadow on Hermione's face darken.

"No. I don't find him in any way attractive. A friend of mine gushed about him for a bit, but I can't see it. I can't make myself see it."

Feeling like a fool, Ginny whispered softly, "I understand."

Hermione let go of the feeling. "Hey, don't worry about it. That whole ordeal is in the past, but I just can't forget it. That doesn't mean you aren't entitled to your own opinion."

"But what he did to you, Hermione, I'm sorry I even asked such a thing."

Hermione held up her hand. They both looked toward the house. Ron came striding out the door, followed by three little munchkins. The red-headed girl belonged to Charlie and Gina, and the other two belonged to Bill and Fleur. Billy, about fourteen months old, was a pudgy carrot top who could barely walk. He looked like a Weasley, but the little blue-eyed blonde, Violette, was the exact duplicate of her mother.

"Hey, time to eat," Ron informed them, trying to gather his nieces and nephew into his arms. Billy held tightly to his left leg, and the girls clasped onto each of his hands.

Ginny giggled. "You look like you're enjoying the little ones. Ever consider having your own?"

He chose to ignore his sister's jab. "Billy, stop. C'mon, Violette, let go. Sara, I think your mother's calling you." His face grew redder, but his smile softend his words. "Oi! Midgets! That's enough! Time to eat," he trudged back to the house.

"Oh yeah, he's enjoying them," Hermione laughed.

Their conversation was put on hold until they could talk privately again.

----------

"Dinner was great, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said politely as everybody helped clean up.

"Why, thank you, Harry. I'm glad you enjoyed it," she poked his ribs teasingly. "It looks like you should eat meals like this more often, you're getting too skinny."

"Don't listen to her!" Ginny yelled dramatically, flailing her arms. "She said the same thing to me, and look what happened!" She patted her tummy. Hermione rolled her eyes. Ginny was NOT heavy, nor was she 'too skinny.' She was proportioned perfectly, Hermione thought. She wouldn't go further than that, though, not wanting to compare herself physically to anybody. Since she was a child, with her bushy hair and large front teeth, Hermione had been sensitive about her appearance. However, she always managed to hide her insecurity behind books.

"You? Look what she did to me!" Fleur added with a good-natured laugh. Gently, she rubbed the bulge that announced her next child. Her mirth was contagious, and the entire room filled with smiles.

Playfully, Mrs. Weasly tapped Ginny on the head.

Ron found Hermione and dragged her out of the crowded kitchen. "I'll see you later. Harry, Charlie, Fred, George and I are going to play Quiddich. Or try, at least," Ron laughed. Not long ago, he had complained to Hermione about being out of shape for Quiddich since he left Hogwarts.

"Have fun," Hermione said as she stood on her toes to capture a kiss.

"We'll be back before dark."

Hermione watched him retreat to join the others. She made her way back into the kitchen, empty except for Mrs. Weasley, Gina, Sara, and Ginny. Sara sat on the ground, playing with a doll. Gina kept one watchful eye on her daughter, and the other on her chore of cleaning dishes.

"I'll never understand why you insist on doing this the muggle way, Gina," Mrs. Weasley complained. "Magic is much more convenient."

"I happen to like the muggle way of cleaning up after family gatherings. It's what my mother's family does."

"And your father?" Ginny asked.

"He's a wizard, and his family uses magic for everything."

"A sensible man, that one," Mrs. Weasley approved with a smile.

"Did I hear someone talking about muggles?" Mr. Weasley poked his head into the kitchen.

"Sure did," Hermione said. "We're discussing their cleaning methods. Care to join us?"

"Er, on second thought," Mr. Weasley began, "I think I'll take the kids out for a walk. Sara?"

Gracefully, the little girl hopped to her feet and followed her grandfather through the door, the doll dragging behind her.

Mrs. Weasley let out a satisfied sigh as she sat in a chair. "It's so wonderful to have the entire family here again. I miss having a busy house. How long are you staying?" She asked Hermione.

"Well, we planned on staying in England for at least a week. We won't impose on you that long, though. I'm going to see my parents tomorrow, and I'll probably spend a few days there. I don't think Ron would want to stay with me at their house, though. Then we're going to Grimmauld Place with Harry to visit Lupin. After all that, we'll go back."

"Sounds like a plan," Mrs. Weasley said half-heartedly. "Oh, I do wish you two would have chosen to live closer. What did Ron find so special about that job in New York, anyway? He would have been fine here."

"He might have stayed here," Ginny speculated. She turned to Hermione. "But then you decided to give into his dream, give up your own, and live with him."

"I didn't give up any dream," Hermione stated matter-of-factly. "My dream was to have a decent job and be with the person I love. I think my life turned out nicely, thank you."

The women smiled at each other. "Of course. Love requires sacrifices to be made," Mrs. Weasley added her expert evaluation. "You'll put up with a lot from Ronald, but I think you'll be able to handle it." She touched Hermione's hand lightly.

They finished the cleaning in 'the muggle way,' Mrs. Weasley cheating occasionally, and it was almost dark by the time they finished. Hermione excused herself and went to a room (with a fireplace) where she could be alone. She checked in with Sandra quickly, and her friend told her to stop worrying about Crookshanks, he was fine.

The entire family spent the rest of the night together, telling stories, remembering old times, and talking about future plans. Hermione sat close to Ron, and kept searching for a reassuring glance when the future was mentioned. She didn't receive any, but she wouldn't let that disappoint her. They'd had a long day, he was tired. They were all tired. Good nights were said, and, finally, everybody turned in for the night.

----------

"Mum! Dad!"

"Hermione!" They got up from their seats in front of the television as their only daughter came through the front door. "It's great to see your gorgeous smile again," her mother remarked as her dad kissed her cheek. Dentists.

"I'm so glad to be home again!" Hermione confessed, her father helping her with her bags. They climbed up to her old bedroom to find it the exact way she left it. Nothing had changed in the Granger household.

For the first time in a long time, Hermione sat down with her parents for lunch. They spent the rest of the day talking, and ended up going out for supper. As soon as they got home, Hermione crashed for the night.

The next morning, Hermione woke up to an empty house. She found a note on the bathroom mirror, telling her that her parents had to work the entire day, but they'd be home in time for supper. Hermione was put in charge of preparing the food.

Great, she thought, I came to visit you, and you're not even going to be here. Just great.

Hermione went up to her room and grabbed her purse. She felt like shopping in Diagon Alley. The knight bus took her to the Leaky Cauldron, and she entered Diagon Alley from there.

She hit nearly every store before lunchtime; she saved Flourish and Botts for the last stop on her list. The familiar aroma of books welcomed her. She browsed for a while, not quite sure what she was looking for.

"Hermione?" A voice startled her.

She turned to see an older lady smiling at her. The woman wore her hair in a tight bun, and square spectacles rested on her nose. "Professor McGonagall?"

"I thought it was you! It's nice to see you again, dear. How are things? How's Ron? Do you like where you're living? Oh, listen to me ramble on. Would you like to talk over lunch?"

"Sounds great," Hermione agreed.

They ate at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Hermione had nearly memorized her narrative of what had happened since she moved to New York, and Professor McGonagall listened intently. When she finished, the older woman began her own tale about becoming the Headmistress of Hogwarts (Dumbledore retired, of course. He now resided in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. He swears he wasn't affected by that spell, but he can't seem to stop talking to the gnomes in his hat. Don't ask...)

"You say you're working in a library?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, I am. It's crazy how busy we can get sometimes. I almost didn't come over here, but I found somebody to train. My friend, Elizabeth, was ecstatic about doing the job."

"I see," she said thoughtfully. "I wonder, though. Are you still interested in Arithmancy?"

"I am, actually. I've been trying to get a job in that field, but there just doesn't seem to be anything available over there."

"I see," she repeated. After a moment's silence, "Do you remember Professor Vector?"

Hermione nodded.

"She informed me a while ago that last year was the final year she wanted to teach Arithmancy, and I was just wondering if you'd maybe like to take the job?"

Teach Arithmancy? That had been Hermione's favorite subject since her first year in Professor Vector's class. How could she say no?

----------

"Why didn't you say no?" Ron questioned loudly as his face reddened.

"Well, I'm sorry, Ron. I just thought it'd be interesting to be a teacher at Hogwarts. And I'll be teaching Arithmancy. Ron, I love Arithmancy!" Hermione declared, matching Ron's tone.

"But you work in a library that's close to our home! You love books, it's perfect!" He growled through clenched teeth. He'd been frustrated ever since she told him of McGonagall's proposition.

"Perfect for who? Sure I like working there, it's great, but this is an oppurtunity I may never get again!"

"So, you don't want to be with me anymore? Is that it?"

"You know that's not true. What about you? You don't want me to be happy?"

"You can be happy with me."

"Ron," Hermione took a deep breath. "I gave up my life here for you once because I love you. Isn't it your turn to let me take a chance because you love me?"

"So that's it, then? We separate, maybe we'll see each other a few times during the school year, and you think our love won't suffer?"

"We can make this work."

"I'm not sure we can," Ron said, lowering his voice.

"What are you saying?" Hermione asked, confused and reluctant to think of what might happen.

"Take the job, Hermione. Go to Hogwarts, but I'm going back to New York. We'll be a world apart, do you really think that can work?"

Hermione tried to blink back the tears. "Not if you don't even want to try. I thought we were in love, Ron. Love is supposed to be stronger than that."

"I'm not saying I don't love you," he pulled Hermione close. After a long pause, he offered, "I just think we should take our values into consideration, see if this is the way we want to go. Let's sleep on it."

They said their good nights. For the first time in years, they didn't kiss before going to bed. Ron fell asleep right away, his snoring gave him away. Hermione, though, couldn't sleep. 'Take our values into consideration.' What Ron really meant was 'Tell McGonagall no because I said so.'

She ventured into the living room only to find Ginny sleeping on the couch. Quickly, she tried to retreat into a different room, but she stopped when she heard Ginny. "Hermione? What's wrong?"

Though she hadn't planned to, she retold her entire account of what happened, beginning with McGonagall's proposal. "I just don't know what to do. I love Ron, I'd do anything to make him happy."

"But what about your own happiness?" Ginny, understandingly, asked the rhetorical question.

"Exactly."

Ginny looked helplessly at the embers glowing in the fireplace. "I don't know what to tell you, Hermione. This is a great oppurtunity for you, but is it worth risking your relationship?" A few moments passed. Thinking this may take a while, Ginny moved to stir the embers and start another fire. "No, you wouldn't be risking anything. Ron's just being... Ron. He loves you, otherwise he wouldn't make such a big fuss. I think that if you do accept the position, Ron will come to his senses sooner or later."

Hermione reached out to stop Ginny from disturbing the dying glow.

"You're right," Hermione tried to convince herself. "The distance between us won't matter. We're in love, and nothing can change that. A lot of the teachers have spouses, I'm sure. It works for them. We'll make it work, too." Hermione was mesmerized by the faint light the embers emitted before they burned out completely.

They both hoped she was right about the separation. The next morning, Hermione told Ron her decision.

----------

Another chapter complete! Know what? I do a lot of scene change things... Does that get annoying? Maybe if I knew how to make it flow better, or something like that. I don't know. Please review! I like reviews... Nice, long reviews are fun! Any suggestions to help me improve my writing are greatly appreciated, as well as greatly needed.

Thanks for reviewing! morgaine, (Thank you! xtakes compliment and inserts it into egox) SmilinStar, (_Frankenstein_ wasn't too bad scary-wise, actually. I didn't care for it much, but what do I know? I'd recommend it, I suppose. Ahem, onto the story. It did seem like that, but he wasn't flirting as much as he was just tormenting her. You'll find out later what he has to torment her about! xwinkx Well, I'm glad you like slow-moving romances, because this one's gonna go at a snail's pace at first. Then the ice shall break, and we'll move quicker. Or something to that effect. ) slyswn28, (Thanks! Isn't Liz interesting, though? Oops, sorry. Elizabeth. She told me she wanted her character's name to be 'elegant.' xrocks onx) Sweet-Sensation162, (I'm glad you find it sweet! Thanks.) Lilykins, (Don't worry! Harry will find a good girl for himself! Everybody in my stories has a happy ending! Thanks a bunch! Exclamation marks are fun!) Liz, (Wow! You did read it! I thought for sure you wouldn't because of your feelings toward 'ponce.' Thanks, though. It means a lot to me.) Princess Gracie, (xkicks you while you're on the groundx Mwahaha. Sadistic urge, you understand. Hey! I was nice that day in school, when you were going to run into that stool, but I pulled you out of the way! Then I pushed you into the wall. Heh... Thanks for reviewing. Yeah, I thought for sure Liz would have something to say about making her call Draco gorgeous, but I'm still alive!) and DanRadcliffe5666 (Thanks! xinserts another compliment into egox)


	5. The Return to Hogwarts

xbig BIG smilex Sorry this took so long to get up here. It's been a very busy time for me. All my shopping's done now, though. Volleyball's over (my team took the championship, baby! xfails to mentionthat it was just a rec leaguex), less homework/more testing, yeah. Anyway... Hope you enjoy this chapter! Happy Holidays, everybody!

There are several flashbacks in this chapter, indicated by italics. They might get a bit confusing, but that's how I wanted them to be. Go figure... They aren't really complete thoughts, and they don't seem to be in any type of format. They're just... there, as dialogue mostly. A bit random, too. Good news, though! Return of Mr. Draco Malfoy!

Disclaimer: You recognize, I don't own. You don't recognize, I probably made a mistake. Heh.

Chapter 4: The Return to Hogwarts

Hermione sat up straight, her hands clenched tightly on her lap, both feet planted firmly on the floor. Her eyes were closed, a hint of moisture glistened on her dark lashes. She stirred when something touched her and opened her reddened eyes to see Crookshanks pawing her lap. Carefully, Hermione pet the tired cat. It had been a chore bringing him this far. Sandra taught Hermione a spell that would be helpful for moving Crookshanks. Conscious again, he seemed to be just fine.

A tear rolled gently down her face, and she wiped at it. "I'm going to miss Ron, you know," Hermione quietly told Crookshanks. Although he was deaf (and a... cat) he seemed to understand her. His left eye winked as if to assure her that he was 'listening' to what she had to say. "I just can't believe that happened to us. It was like he just wanted to quit our relationship, he didn't even want to try this."

Crookshanks tried to lie still, but the carraige didn't allow for a smooth ride. Hermione helped him settle on her lap.

Hermione sorted through her thoughts. Harry's Birthday party sure had been awkward for everybody. After their visit home, Ron and Hermione went back to New York and tried to work things out. Hermione went back to the library, where Elizabeth wasn't too thrilled about giving her position back.

The feelings between the two were tense at first, later escalating to unbearable, until they received a letter from Mrs. Weasley inviting them to a Birthday party for Harry.

_I won't be coming back with you, Ron. I'm going to work at Hogwarts._ Hermione distinctly remembered saying to him. That was when they both agreed that they needed to 'take a break.'

Immediately, Hermione found a replacement for her job at the library. Elizabeth was ecstatic, though she tried to show sympathy for Hermione's position with Ron. The two talked over lunch one day. Hermione told Elizabeth that she still loved Ron, but she couldn't believe he wouldn't support her decision. Trying to lighten the mood, Elizabeth informed her friend that Draco Malfoy had come back to get more copies made.

_This time, he had fewer books on the list._

_That makes sense. I wonder what he needed them for._

_I don't know, but he asked about you._

_He asked about me?_ Hermione had been less than flattered. Stunned was a better way to describe it.

_Indirectly, actually. He wanted to know if you had "anymore smart comments," or something to that effect. I'm sorry for whatever reason you don't like him, but I find him absolutely gorgeous._

_Don't let him charm you too much..._

In the carraige, Crookshanks dug his claws into Hermione's legs. She didn't realize it, though. Hermione was a few days in the past.

_Happy Birthday, Harry!_

_This is for you, Hermione, since you're going back to Hogwarts._

_Harry, I can't believe you kept this!_

_He didn't. He gave it to me. We both decided that you might need it._

_Ginny, I can't believe you didn't hand it in._

_Why would I hand this in? Do you know how handy this bugger is?_

_You know how to use it, right?_

_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good, to activate it._

_I won't use it._

_Mischief managed, to make it disappear._

_Believe me, you'll appreciate this one day._

Hermione didn't notice that the carraige stopped moving until somebody touched her hand. A bit startled, she blushed when she saw the face of the man who had been driving the carraige.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Ms. Granger," he helped her step out.

Hermione stood in front of the immense school. Nostalgia swept Ron, New York, the library, and all else from her mind. The only remaining thoughts were of her years in Hogwarts. She smiled and carried Crookshanks with her through the entrance.

"Up higher! No, no, NO! HIGHER!" Professor McGonagall was instructing a descending candle. "Oh, for Merlin's sake!" She pointed her wand at the enchanted object, and it moved into the appropriate position. "Bloody candle... if I can't even make these things listen to me... oh, this is going to be a long year."

"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall."

The older woman seemed surprised that anybody else even existed in the same world as she did. "Hermione?" McGonagall flung her arms into the air. "Welcome to Hogwarts!" The Great Hall was beautifully decorated, but judging by McGonagall's disheveled appearance, it had taken much work.

"It looks gorgeous! Do you need any help with anything?"

She shook her head. "I think I have things under control. For the most part. Almost. Don't worry about it. I'll be calling for you in an hour, or so, to talk to you and the other new teacher. We'll just go over a few things, you'll survive," McGonagall seemed to forget that she was talking to Hermione, "I'll survive, we'll all survive, I'm sure. Now if I could just get these bloody charms to work right," she mumbled, wandering off in a new direction.

Other new teacher?

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Hermione Granger," a house-elf reached for Crookshanks.

"Don't!" Hermione said loudly. "Er, I mean, please, I can carry him. Just, would you show me the way to my room, please?" Er, was this a boy or a girl?

_Finally giving up on that hopeless organization._

_SPEW is simply taking a slight break until I can strengthen my argument against the enslavement of house-elves._

_That's basically a yes, then?_

_Basically._

"Tingle is happy that Hermione Granger is so kind," Tingle? It grabbed a bag from the carraige driver. Hermione smiled, still unsure what gender this squeaky-voiced house-elf was. "She is very, very happy." Well, that settled it.

Tingle talked excitedly about how she loved serving in Hogwarts and Hermione listened attentively, the high-pitched voice amusing her beyond belief. The little house-elf seemed to have no regard for doors or walls, and Hermione constantly steered her away from obstacles. She neglected to pay attention to where she was going herself and bumped into somebody. Startled, she looked up to see a familiar face.

"Hermione?"

"Neville? What are you doing here?"

He smiled warmly. "I'm the Herbology teacher now. Did you come here to teach Arithmancy?"

"Yes, I did, and I'm happy for you," Hermione looked up the corridor to where Tingle was talking to the air around her. "Sorry, I'll have to talk to you later. I'll see you in a bit, I guess."

"Okay, see ya 'round."

That was great! Hermione was glad that Neville would also be teaching in Hogwarts. She wondered how he would deal with the stress of his first year as a teacher. Personally, Hermione had mixed emotions of excitement and dread.

Hermione ran after the house-elf, trying to catch her before she met up with any flights of stairs. "Please refrain from running in the halls, Miss Granger."

Both Tingle and Hermione stopped dead in their tracks. Snape... Hermione knew his snarling speech anywhere.

_Oh, I'd really like to tell that guy off someday._

_Ron, don't let him get to you._

_You could do it, you know._

_Me? Harry, have you gone mad? He's a teacher._

_C'mon, you could hit him! Just like Malfoy._

_Yeah, but then I'd be expelled forever because I'm the student and he's the Professor._

Although ready to apologize and ask for forgiveness at first, she was struck with a sudden realization. "Sorry Professor. But, please, refrain from scolding me as if I'm a student. It's Professor Granger now, and I would appreciate being treated as such. Have a nice day." With a huge, new swell pride and confidence, Hermione resumed a quick pace and Tingle went back to stumbling through the corridors.

"Tingle is very surprised that you talked to that man that way! That man scares me," Hermione allowed Tingle to continue her rambling and was relieved to finally make it to her own bedroom chamber. Tingle set the bag next to the door, assured Hermione that she would be there if she called, and left the room.

Meanwhile, Hermione could only gawk at where she was standing. Her room was absolutely gorgeous! There was a large chandelier with several softly burning candles. The bed had a canopy, a thin red veil with golden linings; the comforter was thick, a beautiful red with a golden lion centered in the middle, and a certain orange cat resting there as well; the pillows looked so plush, Hermione couldn't resist trying them out. She buried her face in them, then rolled over so she could look at the rest of the room. There was a bookshelf packed full of books Hermione couldn't wait to read, a large bureau, a desk and chair, and there was another door in the room.

Curiously, if not reluctantly, Hermione slid off the bed and ventured to the door. It opened to a large bathroom. It reminded her of the one the prefects used with it's huge tub and numerous faucets, and there was also a vanity. Hesitantly, she sat down in the backless chair and looked at her reflection. The smile on her face wouldn't go away, and Hermione hadn't even realized it was there until she saw it. Cluttering the surface were perfumes and different types of make-up. Hermione wasn't sure why she would ever need such luxurious things; she was here to teach, after all.

_Are you sure it's big enough, Hemrione?_

_Ron, it's all we need for now. We're just starting out. Someday we'll get a real house._

_Of course we will. This is perfect. Know why?_

_No, why?_

_Because we'll be living here. You, me, together. It's perfect._

Now she had her dream place. Large, luxurious, extremely comfortable... But so what? There was nobody to share it with. She didn't notice how long she'd taken to wander around until she heard a knock at her door, followed by a squeaky, "Hermione Granger? The Headmistress would like to see you now."

"Coming!" She turned to Crookshanks who sat on the bed, the end of his tail twitching. "Would you like to come? Or do you think you'll be fine here?" Never would she understand why she insisted on talking to a deaf cat. His left eye winked. Hermione scratched his head before leaving him alone.

Tingle led her to the Great Hall. At the entrance, Hermione saw McGonagall talking to somebody. She assumed she was either still talking to herself, or Neville was actually there.

"Good evening, Professor McGonagall." Hermione got the woman's attention.

"There you are, Miss Granger," she turned back to whom she was talking to. "Shall we, Mr. Malfoy?"

...Malfoy? Malfoy was here?

"Where's Neville?" Hermione managed to utter, stunned by Draco's presence.

"Professor Longbottom? I imagine he's in the greenhouse taking care of the plants. He really is a wonderful Herbologist, we were lucky that he was able to take Professor Sprout's place last year."

Neville taught last year? Draco... Draco Malfoy was the other new teacher.

"Small world, eh Granger?" His smirk and 'witty' comments never failed.

"Mr. Malfoy will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year," McGonagall informed Hermione.

Defense Against the... oooh... She recovered a few seconds after the initial shock.

"Professor Granger, if you please, Professor Malfoy."

"Draco, if you please," he bowed mockingly. "I'm looking forward to this year, and being your rival again."

_Of course you're Head Girl, Hermione. But aren't you surprised in the least that Dumbledore chose me for Head Boy?_

_It makes sense. Your marks aren't quite as high as mine, I'm sure, but I believe they're up there._

_That they are._

"Rivals?"

"Uh, I forgot to tell you?" McGonagall inserted innocently. "I volunteered you to be the Head of the Gryffindor House."

"But that wouldn't make us rivals, I just saw Snape..."

"Snape resigned from that position. _I_ volunteered to be Head of the Slytherin House."

"Enough talk for now. Let's get this over with before it's time for supper." McGonagall walked briskly down the corridor.

"Rivals, once again," Draco followed her.

Hermione caught up to him. "We weren't rivals, Professor. We were enemies. We always were, we always will be."

"Oh, come on, Granger. There was that one time that we got along."

"I don't recall."

_You need to both come up with a password to this room. Inside you'll find two of everything, decorated in the colors of your respective houses. There are separate bedrooms in there, but you're expected to mainly sleep in your House's common rooms. Any other questions, don't be afraid to ask._

_So, what should our password be?_

_I have an idea, Granger._

_Go ahead._

_How about Mudblood?_

_Clever, but I like ferret better._

_What did you say?_

_Oh, we aren't getting anywhere with this. Isn't there anything we agree on?_

_I highly doubt that._

_Fine, then we'll sit here until we come up with something. In the meantime, I can't wait until I can get some butterbeer._

_Yeah, butterbeer is probably the best thing I've ever tasted. Of course, I can have it at anytime._

_Wait... That's it._

_No, no... that is not going to be our password._

_We can't agree on anything else!_

"I know that you remember that once. You cried over it enough," Hermione glared at him. "We got on quite well at that time, if you ask me," and he strode ahead to walk next to McGonagall, leaving Hermione to fume.

_Is Ron making you mad, Granger?_

_That's really none of your business, now is it?_

_So it is Weasleby! Why else would you be in here. Don't you usually stay in the goodie-goodie common room?_

_If you really must know, Ron and I aren't getting along too well right now._

_Problems in bed?_

_For your information, that's not even an issue with us._

_That's not what Ron's been saying._

_Shut up!_

_You don't have to be shy around me, Granger._

_Oh, forget it!_

"We've never gotten along, Draco Malfoy. We never have. We never will," Hermione muttered shakily to herself. She pushed all memories of Draco from her mind, listened attentively to McGonagall, and ignored Draco as well as she could.

On their 'tour' of Hogwarts they ran into their old teachers, and they even stayed for tea with Hagrid and Fang for a while. Neville attended to his plants carefully, and he seemed unhappy to have Draco around him.

"Supper will be served shortly if you'd like to go freshen up. We'll wait until everybody shows up, so please be quick."

Hermione walked quickly down the hall, but not quickly enough. "What's wrong, Granger?"

_I despise you._

_And I desire you._

"You know what's wrong."

"How many years ago was that? I'd like to apologize, if you would let me."

"Nothing you say can change what you did."

Hermione excused her self and hurried to her room. Less than five minutes later, she was seated next to Draco, eating supper. He wouldn't dare say a thing, though. Hagrid sat to her right. For that, Hermione was grateful. She despised Draco Malfoy, and they would always be enemies.

----------

Poor Hermione. Poor, mistaken Hermione. Unfortunately for her, she will eventually get along with Draco, despite what she seems to believe. Know why that's gonna happen? Because I am an fanfiction writer. I hold the pen, er... keyboard, to say what happens to her from now on. Mwhahahaha.

Sorry. I can't tell you what happened all those years ago. Take guesses if you like... But it is a plot device thingy for my later chapters. Dun dun dun...

I hope you liked this chapter. It's short-ish, but took a while, and it was really fun to write! Please review!

Happy Holidays, everybody!

Thanks for reviewing! Liz, (I'm sorry to have disappointed you with that last chapter, hopefully this one's better. And, no. You may not kill Draco. xwinkx) Sweet-Sensation162, (I think you will forever be my favourite reviewer. Sound good?) slswn28, (Uh... what I meant was "in Hogwarts" as in a time period, i.e. when they were students. Sorry, I probably should have made that more clear. Anyway, that muggle gas station meeting sounds interesting. Haha, that'll be my next project, how 'bout it? I'll give you due credit, of course, but, for some reason, that sounds like a fun story to write. Hah. xrocks onx) Galadriel Morgaine Potter, (I am saddened that you do not like that song, but I will not hold it against you. LoL Good job in identifying it, though. xhands you 'sorta cookie' that was spoken ofx Enjoy! Thanks, by the way, I love reading nice reviews! As for the Quiddich thing... You're right, but I'm too lazy. I had to upload three times because I kept messing up Parvatti and Padma's names. Patil is their LAST name, I kept messing up. Haha.) DanRadcliffe566, (Thanks. Patience, grasshopper. All shall be revealed in due time. xbegins talking slowerx These things take time... xfalls asleepx) anafics, (Thanks!) SmilinStar, (Your review made me smile! Yeah... I wanted Ron to act a bit like an ass so that the separation would be easier for me to make happen. Did that even make sense? I'm sure you can at least guess what I mean.) and Christi-Lynn (That's what he was doing with the books! And, yeah, I had to make Ron act like that, otherwise the separation wouldn't be so... believable.)


	6. New Beginnings

No, guys. Don't worry. Snape isn't leaving! I just wanted him to conveniently resign for my own plotting purposes. Sorry to worry you.

Oh my gosh! I am so SO sorry about this update. It took forever. I have a bunch of excuses, but this one's probably the best. At first, this chapter was short and... uneventful. So I decided to add another part to it. Hope you like it. I'm sorry, though, it took longer than I expected. ALSO, I haven't had the internet since... around Christmas. Thus, I haven't been on the computer since around Christmas. Finally! it's working again. Glad about that. I've felt so deprived! (I hate being dependent on technology... I really do.)

I'm introducing two more of my friends in this chapter. Grace (Sam actually, but she wanted to use her middle name) Sirfalas, and Aubrie Earfalas. The last names are Elvish. Just because... I can. I just noticed how much Grace's last name sorta sounded like syphilis when I said it. That'th exthremely funny to Grathe, Aubrie, Lith and I. Don't worry, thweetieth. Thith lithp-type thing ith not going to latht long. I promithe.

Disclaimer: Though I realithe, er, realize it's been a long time since we've last talked, nothing has changed.

Chapter 5: New Beginnings

"Please allow me to introduce our two new teachers this year," McGonagall directed the students' attention to Hermione and Draco. "Professor Malfoy is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, as well as taking over Professor Snape's position as Head of Slytherin." Draco stood up, recieving a round of applause, and collective giggling from the older female students. He seemed pleased as he sat back down, and grinned at Hermione. As she had become accustomed to doing, she ignored him. "And Professor Granger will be filling the positions of Aritmancy teacher and Head of Gryffindor." She recieved the same acceptance, except, of course, for the giggling.

The Headmistress went on with the usual Hogwarts greetings and warnings to the first years. The wonderful food finally appeared on the tables and everybody ate. Hagrid, on Hermione's right, piled food onto his plate, all the while drinking deeply from his goblet. On her left, Draco sat quietly, occasionally saying something to Snape. Hermione was content to occupy herself with her meal and looking out at the sea of students. It was quite different, seeing the Great Hall at this perspective. She had to admit, though, she liked the superior feeling she now enjoyed.

"So, Hermione," Hagrid said loudly. "How're those boys o' yers doin?"

"Excuse me?"

"Ron and Harry! You and Ron still together?"

"Um, they're doing fine. They're both aurors, Ron's living in New York City. And, er, no, we aren't together anymore."

Draco, who had been 'minding his own business', choked on his drink. Hermione didn't seem to notice, trying to hush the booming giant as much as possible. "We decided to take a break, rather than try this long distance thing."

"That's too bad. Sorry 'bout tha'. Don't worry, though. Plenty o' other fellers out there. You'll find one, I'm sure."

Could he be any louder? Hermione was sure the entire school heard Hagrid's inspirational sentiment. "Thanks," and she quickly, stuffing a bit of food in her mouth and trying to cover her cherry-colored face.

Hagrid looked the other way and spoke to the teacher on his right for a bit. After her face returned to a decent shade, Hermione was able to look up and watch the students again.

A few of the older students actually looked familiar. Hermione did some quick math and figured that the fifth, sixth, and seventh year students were actually in school for a year or so when she was.

"You're going to get sick of them already, if you keep staring," Draco informed Hermione. She turned her attention to his smirking face.

"I won't get sick of _them _if I look I at them too long. No, I think that only happens with you," Hermione turned away, ashamed of she just said. That was such a... 'first years' thing to say. Not only was it childish, it was also ineffective.

"I can safely say that you're the only girl I've met who could say that. Could you be lying to me?"

"Maybe you need to meet more people."

"I don't think that's the problem."

What Draco said was true. Hermione could distinctly remember her seventh year, she was the only girl who didn't 'want' Draco Malfoy. She'd had a boyfriend, Ron, but so had many of the other girls. That didn't stop them, though.

Before they could banter back and forth any further, the meal ended and it was time to leave the Great Hall. The prefects were in charge of escorting the other students to the common room, but Hermione decided to follow anyway. When they reached the portrait (it was still the fat lady) Hermione noticed that the door to her bedroom chamber was very close.

Why do I have a door and not a portrait? Hermione wondered. She couldn't remember seeing any type of locking mechanism, so how was her room to stay secure? As if on cue, Tingle appeared behind a statue, beckoning Hermione. Before she went to see what the little house-elf was up to, she heard the password to the Gryffindor common room. ("Flitterbloom.")

"What is it, Tingle?"

"Tingle forgot to give Hermione Granger this," she presented an envelope. "Big white owl brought it this morning, didn't know where to find you. Tingle is sorry for not remembering."

"Don't worry about it. Thank you."

"Hermione Granger is very welcome. Is there anything else Tingle should do for Hermione Granger?"

"I do have a question."

Tingle's huge eyes grew larger with anticipation. "Yes?"

"How do I lock my door?"

Tingle looked confused. "Why would Hermione Granger want a _lock_ for the door? Is the charm not good enough?"

"What charm?"

"Only Hermione Granger can open the door. Only Hermione Granger can let someone in. Is the charm working?"

A charm! Clever, Hermione thought. "Oh, I see. It's fine, thank you."

"Anything else?"

"That will do."

The house-elf disappeared down the corridor and Hermione ripped open the envelope as she walked into her room. A small piece of parchment fell out. Hermione picked it up. It read:

_You forgot something!  
-Second Generation Marauders (aka, Harry and Ginny)_

Hermione pulled the Marauder's Map out of the envelope. She tried leaving it behind, she really didn't want to use it. But... since it _was_ here...

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Hermione informed the bit of parchment. Before the map of Hogwarts appeared, a message appeared before Hermione. _"We don't believe you!" _She tried again. _"Sure you are."_ Bloody thing... After one more try, the map did appear. For some reason unknown to her, Hermione was searching for a specific name. When she found Malfoy, she saw he was in his bedroom chamber. First floor. Why was she looking!? Hermione tapped the map again, "Mischief managed," before she could see where, exactly, on the first floor it was. _"That didn't take long."_

----------

Hermione sat in her classroom, excitement sweeping over her as she took attendance. Her first class combined seventh year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. Mostly girls filled the front row of seats and talked excitedly to one another. On the other hand, the majority of male students sat close to the back, having their own, undoubtedly, intelligent conversation.

One girl from Ravenclaw, Grace Sirfalas, raised her hand. Hermione acknowledged her. "Excuse me, but, were you Head Girl a few years ago?"

She smiled. "I was." Grace's hair was extremely curly, even by Hermione's standards. Tight, blonde, spiraled curls framed the girl's head, her green eyes ready to inquire more of Hermione.

"The same time as Professor Malfoy?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Of course. Grace was part of the reason for the giggling the previous night, her classmates were the other reason. Hermione would never be able to see it.

"No, Professor Malfoy wasn't Head Girl at the same time I was."

The girl beside Grace burst into laughter. This girl, a Gryffindor, also had curly hair. It was thick, and light brown. Her eyes were a bright, watery blue. Hermione remembered her, Aubrie Earfalas. She was extremely intelligent, and Hermione noticed that she wore the Head Girl badge. She recalled helping Aubrie study for a few exams in the common room. Also, Aubrie had often told her about the four younger siblings she had. Hermione pictured a blonder version of the Weasleys, and all girls except for one boy.

"Oh, you know what I meant!"

"Yes, he was Head Boy when I was Head Girl."

"You were in the same class as him?" Asked a girl on the other side of the room. Hermione looked at her students and saw that she had the attention of all the girls. The guys seemed content to talk amongst themselves. She pulled off her glasses, knowing that she wouldn't get anything done unless she complied.

"Don't tell me you girls all have crushes on him," Hermione rubbed her temples, wondering if she was allowed to talk about other teachers.

"I've had a crush on him since my first year!" Grace stated proudly. "I almost started dancing when I saw him in the Great Hall."

"Gracie... you _did _start dancing," Aubrie informed the class.

"Shh."

"Professor Granger, what was he like in school?"

Arrogant. Very arrogant. Charming, though. He had a way about him that; even though Hermione detested his presence, she sometimes enjoyed it. Of course, there wasn't enough good about him to balance out the bad.

"Professor?"

"Look at her!"

"She's blushing!"

"Did you have a crush on him, too?"

Hermione was brought back from her thoughts. "I most certainly did not! In fact, I was one of the only girls who didn't like him."

"Are you mental?"

"What was wrong with you?"

Defensively, she explained a few things to the girls. "First of all, I had a boyfriend. Secondly, he wasn't exactly the nicest person in this school, to put it lightly. He always made fun of me because I had bushy hair, big teeth, and I was muggle-born."

"I'll bet he's eating his words now," someone in the back of the room commented. Hermione didn't identify who said that because the girls badgered her with more questions.

"Too bad he bedded half the girls in school in his seventh year," Aubrie mumbled as the others grew more and more excited. It was obvious she didn't share her classmates' obsession with Draco.

"That was just a rumor!"

"No, it was true! My sister's friend's roommate's cousin's boyfriend said so!"

"Ask Professor Granger," somebody suggested.

Every pair of eyes in the room focused on Hermione. "Well, to my knowledge," YES! He knew that every girl wanted him, and he finally set out to prove it! Okay... mabye not every girl. Most of the seventh and sixth years, though. And maybe he didn't sleep with all of them, but still... "To my knowledge I have no right to talk about another teacher in that way. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to begin class," Hermione replaced her glasses as a wave of disappointed groans sounded. "Welcome to Arithmancy!"

The students dutifully copied down their objectives for the year, and then they went right to work. Hermione, thanks to McGonagall's quick instructions, was able to conduct class for the required amount of time. She ignored the fact that they wasted fifteen minutes in the beginning, convincing herself that she'd do better next time.

Hermione's next class was a group of Gryffindor/Ravenclaw fifth years (Aubrie's younger sister was in that class!) Then came the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw third years. On her lunch break, she visited Crookshanks in her room. He was sleeping, of course, but he awoke when she scratched his head. After lunch, she had Slytherin/Hufflepuff fourth years, and, finally, Slytherin/Hufflepuff sixth years.

In the Great Hall that evening, Draco seemed to lack his usual energy. Hermione, on the other hand, couldn't have been happier. She absolutely loved teaching! Not only did she get to teach her favorite subject, but many of the students, mostly Ravenclaws, shared her fervor for the subject.

"Long day, Professor?" She asked Draco in a pleasant voice.

Though he wasn't his normal self, he was able muster a smirk. "You're actually talking to me, Granger?"

"We're both adults now."

"Yes, that we are."

"Oh, and it's _Professor _Granger, please."

----------

The first week went by smoothly, Hermione falling deeper and deeper in love with her work every second. Her students were absolutely wonderful, and they all seemed to respect her. Though she never thought she could choose a favorite class, she enjoyed her Gryffindor/Ravenclaw seventh years an awful lot. That class was never boring, thanks to Grace. Aubrie tried her best to keep her friend in check, but Grace had way too much stamina.

Often during dinner, when Hermione would become curious, she'd look at the Ravenclaw table and would see Grace sneak several looks at Draco. Her face reddened everytime. Hermione was reminded of the girls in her seventh year.

"Why do you keep looking over there?" Draco asked from beside her.

Had she been that obvious about it? "Er, I get the feeling I'm being watched." That was a terrible lie, but Draco accepted it. Quickly, she changed the subject. "Do you like teaching so far?"

Hermione had heard from most of the students that Draco actually was a good teacher. The children enjoyed his class, and some even said he was their favorite DADA teacher yet. Part of her could believe this; he could be quite charming when he wanted, whether he was sincere or not. The other part of her wanted to laugh in the students' faces when they talked about what a great person he was.

"I like it," he admitted with a shrug. "The kids seem to enjoy it. Not much else to it, really." He took a sip from his goblet. "How about you, Granger? Sick of the kids yet?"

"Not at all, Professor. I love teaching, and the kids are great."

"I agree, they aren't too bad." He added with a smug look, "I don't have any obnoxious know-it-alls, at least."

"And I don't have any arrogant whelps," Hermione retorted with a smile.

----------

(A/N: I didn't realize until after I wrote this part that, I think, Quiddich doesn't start till after Halloween. I'm not sure, though. So, due to my extreme laziness... If the case is that Quiddich isn't supposed to start untill after Halloween, then we'll pretend the rules changed recently. Okay? Good.)

"Ravenclaw's going to win!"

"Yeah, right! Gryffindor's gonna kick your sorry-"

"That's enough!" Hermione regained control of her third years. They looked shocked that she actually raised her voice. Feeling bad about yelling, she quickly added, "We all know that Gryffindor will surely win."

The students went back to bickering, and Hermione canceled her lesson plans for the rest of the class. The first Quiddich game was scheduled for the next day, and this class could hardly contain their excitement. She dismissed the class, and headed to her bedroom. As usual, Crookshanks was curled up and lying amongst her pillows. She didn't stay long, though.

Hermione left the castle and headed for Hagrid's hut. Fang was sleeping outside, and Hermione entered without the old dog realizing it.

"Hermione!" Hagrid greeted her. "Would yeh like some tea?"

"That'd be great, thanks."

He pulled the water from the fire. "So what brings you out here?"

"I just wanted to visit."

"I see," he poured the water into their cups. "I hear your first Quiddich match is tomorrow. That's gotta be excitin' for yeh. Nervous at all?"

Hermione nodded. "I am, and I can't understand why! I never got this way about a match, not even when Ron and Harry played. I have butterflies and everything!" Hermione lifted her tea cup, but placed it back down after a moment's thought. She added sugar and cream. "It's not like I'm worried that we're going to be terrible, Harry left a decent team behind him and I've watched them practice. They aren't too bad."

"Maybe yer not worried 'bout winnin' or losin' the match," Hagrid pondered aloud. "Out to impress someone, maybe?"

Hermione was stunned. Who would she have to impress? And, more importantly, why did his words make her blush? Was that true? Was she trying to impress someone? Immediately, she thought of Draco, but pushed him from her mind quickly.

"That's ridiculous."

"If you say so," Hagrid encouraged her to drink her tea.

Hermione didn't sleep well that night, thinking about what Hagrid had said. Oh, what did he know anyway? She awoke early, and beat almost everybody down to the Great Hall. Only the Quiddich players were there before her. She stopped and talked with her team for a bit before grabbing something to eat. As the hall filled, Hermione decided to make her way toward the Quiddich field.

Again, only the players beat her to her destination.

"Granger!" Draco followed her out the door. She looked at him, but said nothing. "I just wanted to say good luck."

"Good luck?"

Draco was subtly disappointed by her reaction. "You look like I just tried to curse you. Yeah, good luck today. I hope your team wins."

Hermione wasn't sure what was going on, but it seemed Draco was being abnormally nice to her lately. "Oh," she muttered. "Thank you." She walked the rest of the way to field, leaving Draco to stalk back inside.

He was acting so strange. Earlier that week, they'd actually had a civil conversation without any sarcastic remarks from either of them. Before that, he offered to help her take a few large books from the library. His unexpected congenial manner didn't end there, though. Draco sat next to Hermione at the match, and cheered for Gryffindor.

"The obvious choice, right?" Hermione joked when her team scored again.

"Of course. For now, at least. Wait until _we _play you. You won't stand a chance."

"Keep telling yourself that." Gryffindor's seeker caught the snitch, and the crowd roared.

Hermione walked with Draco back to the castle, and it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Where was the arrogant, snotty brat she knew all those years ago? This wasn't him! No, Hermione found that she could tolerate this Draco. On their way, they passed by Hagrid.

"Mighty impressive today, Hermione." He gave her a discreet wink.

Hermione didn't know if her face had ever been redder.

----------

Yeah, I added the Quiddich part as an afterthought, so if they're a large amount of errors in there, it's because I did it really quick. Pfft, quick, I shouldn't lie to you. It's because I'm lazy and as soon as it was finally done, I read over it once and said that's good enough.

I hope you liked it. Sorry it took so bloody long... Please review!

I feel sorta bad, now. Grace (Sam) and Aubrie were in character, but Liz really wasn't too much. Well, the Dracogorgeous part, at least. Otherwise... not too bad. Yes. Sam is in character. Isn't she... er, unique? I love my Aubrie! xhugsx Yeah, she has four younger siblings, and they all look alike. Baby pictures sure are fun to look at! The poor dear.

Thanks for reviewing! slyswn28, (No, Snape isn't leaving! He's too great of a character for him to go away. I'm glad you liked the flashbacks, they were fun to write. Yeah, I used to HATE when fanfictions would take place "post-Hogwarts," then I read one. Go figure. It's very good, if you'd like to read it. "A Little Misunderstanding" by red-flower. Check it out! She FINALLY finished it! I was so happy. xrocks onx) Sweet-Sensation162, (I'm glad you can't believe it, that means I didn't make it _too_ obvious. Thanks!) SmilinStar, (I'm sorry about the long time between updates! Uh... at least I'm updating? I have a habit of... stopping. Haha. Teehee, I wrote something 'intriguing.' I'm a dork, I know. It's best to just let me be...) Liz, (xkicks you for kicking 'Ponce'x Hmph. Thanks, sweetie. Of course Snape won't leave! You liked the pillows, eh? Glad to see that you can pick out the really important stuff! Thanks, sweetie.) The Black Pearl is Freedom, (First of all, wonderful name. I love it! Thanks for reading my story!) EnaidRehtaeh, (Patience is a virtue, dear. Haha. Sorry... I'm terrible with updates. Thanks for reviewing!) Galadriel Morgaine Potter, (No review is boring! I'm glad you enjoyed the flashbacks. Teehee... maybe if you kiss Draco, he'll turn into a prince. I want a kitty...) The Mysterious Mel, (You're a goober. Hmm... If you can't see what you're typing cuz it's all blurry, how do you know it's an "awesome update" eh? Keeding, sweetie. Two words for you... UPDATE! Er... xcounts on fingersx Yeah, that's two.) and Christi-Lynn (Tension between characters is a fun story tool!)


	7. Full Moon and Halloween

I'm going to ENGLAND! FEBRUARY 15, 2005! Me, Liz and Sam are going! In the words of my daddy, 'Poor, old England.' Mwahahaha! Well, I promise I'll update then. Teehee... I'll try to update from England. Hotel has internet access. Woot. If it doesn't work, there won't be an update till after the 21st. Sorry in advance. I hope I don't die... xshudderx I'm scared. Happy thoughts!

Oh, in this chapter, if I spelled Hermione's name wrong, I apologize. Like, a billion times, I spelled it Hemrione, but I think I fixed it most of the time. I don't know what was wrong... but I'm sorry if I missed any. Silly fingers.

By the way, I love my reviewers! You're the best! Thanks for reading my story, it really means a lot to me. Don't ask why all the sudden appreciativeNess. I just don't know.

This chapter goes really fast, and is a bit longer than normal. Not my greatest. Er... just warning you. And sorry for any other errors. I didn't spend much time reviewing this one.

Disclaimer: When I go to England, I'll try to get hold of Ms. Rowling and convince her to give me the rights to Harry Potter. Think it'll work? Till then, I own nothing.

Chapter 6: Full Moon on Halloween

The wind blew warmly as Hermione walked around the grounds. She spotted the greenhouse, and walked toward it. Inside, she saw Neville caring for his plants. He looked up and waved to her. In a moment, he was outside talking to her.

Covered in dirt from head to boot, Neville smiled. "Congratulations for that win the other day, Hermione."

"Thank you."

"I wanted to say something to you after the match, but you were with Malfoy."

"You could have said something, Neville. Don't let him intimidate you. It seems like he's through that stage of his. He's more mature now," Hermione defended Draco. ...Why? Why was she defending him? She couldn't answer herself, but she did know that she hadn't forgiven him for what he'd done when they were still in school.

"Yes, I know how he is now. We've even talked a few times. That's not why I didn't want to say anything, though." At Hermione's confused expression, Neville continued. "I remember you hated him, especially our seventh year. But now you two seem to have... resolved your differences. You've been getting along quite well, and I didn't want to interrupt anything."

Hermione could barely speak. "No, Neville. You've got it all wrong. There is nothing going on between us. Nothing." And things hadn't been resolved.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. Just saying what-"

"It's okay, Neville. I'll talk to you later." Flustered, Hermione hurried away. She headed toward Hagrid's hut. On her way, she heard familiar giggling. She saw Grace and Aubrie, amongst other students, in a cluster near the Forbidden Forest. Aubrie saw Hermione and waved. The other girls greeted her as well before returning their attention to each other.

Hermione guessed they might be talking about Draco. Silly girls, they just couldn't see beyond that charming exterior. She wanted desperately to warn them about people like Draco Malfoy, but she could never bring herself to talk about her past. Speaking of her past...

A white owl swooped down and landed gracefully on a stump near Hermione. "Hello, Hedwig," she called excitedly, untying the parchment from her leg.

_Dear Hermione,_

_How goes it? We can't complain here. Harry's staying here for a while, hence the reason I have access to Hedwig. He's been around a lot lately, and I think I'm falling for him! Not like when we were in school, and I had that school girl's crush, but this... I don't know. Harry's wonderful, and it's nice to have someone my own age around. Mum enjoys it, too. She's always thought of Harry as one of her own._

_How's the teaching? Come on, tell me honestly, has a certain blond someone caught your eye lately? I couldn't believe it when you said he was the new DADA teacher. I realize that what he did was wrong, but it's like you said, he seems to have changed. If he ever does apologize, I think it'd be right for you to forgive him. I know, I know. It's not my place. Good luck! Hope to see you soon!_

_-Ginny_

_P.S. Harry says he misses you. But, of course, I wouldn't let him see this letter._

Apologize? Draco Malfoy? Hah! Hermione was more likely to go running through the Forbidden Forest at night than Draco Malfoy was to apologize to a 'mudblood.'

Hermione tucked the note into her pocket and headed back to her room. When she got there, she composed a letter to Ginny, as well as one for Ron. She'd written to him so many times, but he'd rarely written back. She tried to not let it bother her. He was busy when she lived there with him, why would things change now?

----------

"So, let me get this straight," Grace started slowly. She went through one of the complex Arithmancy problems, stating the reasoning why certain things were done.

"That's right," Hermione said with a smile. Grace and the other students were finally understanding the new material. These kids were absolutely brilliant, inquisitive, but brilliant nonetheless. She finished the lesson, assigned homework, and dismissed the students.

"So, congrats on Gryffindor's win, Professor."

"Thank you, Grace. It was a good match, I thought."

"Oh, did you watch it?" Aubrie said smoothly, a knowing tone in her voice.

"Excuse me?"

"You seemed a bit more interested in your company than in the match. But, that was just my opinion. We'll see you later!" They hurried toward the door as Hermione tried to conceal her blushing face.

"Aubrie, this is so sad!" Grace whimpered with a fake pout.

"What's sad?"

"It's our last Halloween at Hogwarts!" Aubrie smiled, sympathizing with her friend. "But this is going to be one to remember!" The two girls walked out of the classroom before Hermione could grasp Grace's meaning of what she said. The second thing, at least. She guessed that the girls were referring to her talking to Draco at the game, but what would be so great about this Halloween?

When Hermione finally made it down to the Great Hall later that night, the sight took her breath away. She'd forgotten how magnificent the decorations were; Hagrid's giant pumpkins, a thousand live bats, and several flaming orange streamers swimming across the ceiling. The stars were also visible, and the full moon added to the festivities.

Before she even reached the teacher's table, Hermione heard her name whispered. Aubrie beckoned to her. Curiously, she followed as the younger girl led the way out of the Great Hall. "What's wrong, Aubrie? The feast is inside," walking away from the smell of the delicious food, Hermione's stomach growled in protest.

"It's about Grace," she said uncertainly. "She... She's in the Forbidden Forest."

"What? Why?" Hermione asked, infuriated.

"For bragging rights? I don't know... But she's in there, and I'm starting to get worried. I'm sorry, I should have said something, but I didn't think she'd actually do it!" Aubrie rambled hysterically.

"Don't worry," she tried to remain calm. "Go tell Professor McGonagall. Now." While Aubrie did what she was told, Hermione reached in her pocket. As she had become accustomed to doing, Hermione kept the Marauder's Map tucked away, always at hand. (...you never know...)

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" "Stop lying to us!" Despite the smart remark, the map appeared. "Lumos." Hermione read the map, seeing that Grace was in fact in the Forbidden Forest. There was something else, too. Draco was approaching from behind her. Trying to avoid a confrontation, she hurried down the steps to where Grace was.

"Granger?" Oops. Guess that light would give her away. Not that the moon wasn't shining bright enough to see her there. "Lumos." Draco's wand lit up. "Granger, what are you doing out here?"

Seeing no point in lying to him, she told him briefly what was going on, and he recruited himself to help. They ran into the Forbidden Forest, Hermione leading the way.

"Do you have any idea where the hell we're going?" Draco inquired doubtfully.

"Yes!" She answered simply, occasionally checking the map so that only she could see it.

"Granger, wait," Draco grabbed her by the arm. "I have a better idea." Hermione could see the outline of his arm rising to the sky. Red sparks shot out of his wand and illuminated the area around them. Hermione proceeded to call for Grace.

"Professor Malfoy? Professor Granger?" Someone said behind them. Grace appeared.

"What are you two doing out here?" She asked with a sly tone.

Hermione was NOT in the mood. "Looking for you. Do you know how dangerous it is out here? What were you thinking? Oh, you are in so much trouble!" After her mixture of worry and rage wore off, Draco escorted them back to Hogwarts. Grace walked behind with Hermione, pestering her about guess what...

"Stop that," Hermione whispered. "There is absolutely nothing going on between us. Besides, you have other things to worry about. Why were you out here in the first place?"

"Just because," Grace shrugged. "I've never been that deep into the Forest, and I thought maybe I'd find something interesting out here. It's my last Halloween in Hogwarts, and Halloween is the night when the veil is the thinnest."

"The veil?"

"That separates our world from others. Just something a friend of mine told me about before. I just wanted to see if I could find anything."

Looking for something interesting? They were among wizards and witches! What could be more interesting than that?

Before their conversation could continue further, Draco yelled back to them.

"RUN!" He grabbed Grace by the arm, forcing her to run in front as he pulled Hermione with him.

"What...is...it?" Hermione asked after a while.

"Were...wolf," Draco panted between terrified breaths. "Keep running, Grace!" He screamed as she stopped suddenly. Draco and Hermione skidded to a stop behind her.

They were face to face with a werewolf.

Hermione gripped her wand tightly, not sure what she would do.

"Take Grace and get out of here."

"You can't stay here!"

"McGonagall should be on her way," Draco looked at Hermione. "Be careful." The beast came toward them. "RUN!"

Hermione grabbed Grace and escaped toward the castle, hoping Draco would be okay. She heard him yell an incantation, and the werewolf yelped in pain. They stopped running, and the sound ceased. In less than a minute, Draco came through the trees, completely unharmed. Hermione sighed in relief. "Let's go back to-" she started until she saw Draco's face. He was looking beyond her, dread filling his eyes.

Before she could turn around, a force pushed her to the ground. Another werewolf. It attacked Grace, and Draco aimed his wand.

"No! You might hit her!" Hermione protested.

"That thing could kill her!" Draco argued. He repeated the spell.

It didn't hit her. The creature was hit, and it shrunk away from Grace's motionless body. The shrieks the beast emitted made Hermione cringe, but she went to where the girl was lying. Draco stopped, and the werewolf retreated. "We have to get out of here," he lifted Grace from Hermione's lap. Blood soaked through her robes.

"Where is she?" A furious McGonagall burst in on the scene. At the sight of the girl, however, she gasped. "We must get her to the hospital wing."

"Werewolf," Hermione stuttered. Realizing that wasn't a complete thought, she tried again. "She was bitten by a werewolf, Professor. She needs better help."

"Werewolf? Right. We'll get her to St. Mungo's. Malfoy, bring her to my office."

----------

"How long was she suspended?" Aubrie asked. She and Hermione were walking around the grounds on a cool Saturday in November.

"A week," Hermione answered. She, Draco, and McGonagall agreed to maintain the pretense that Grace was being punished by suspension, rather than ruin her reputation by telling everybody she was bitten.

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have let her go."

"Don't blame yourself, sweetie. It's over with now, and things go on. She'll survive," I hope, Hermione added to herself.

"Well, I'm still sorry. I have to go now and help my brother study for an exam. I swear, that boy's never going to be a proper wizard." She excused herself, and Hermione was left alone. She saw Neville, and decided to talk to him. He went into the greenhouse, and Hermione peeked in. He was mixing herbs and other ingredients. Strange. Neville was always so terrible at Potions.

Hermione invited herself in, startling poor Neville, almost making him add too much belladonna to his concoction. "Oh, hello Hermione. How are things going?"

"I can't complain. Hey, Neville, since when did you start making potions?"

He smiled. "Since I stopped taking Snape's Potions class." He put the ingredients aside. "Why do you ask?"

A deep breath to calm her nerves was all she needed to get started. "I need your complete confidence," she didn't wait for a reply since she already fully trusted Neville. "One of the students was bitten by a werewolf, and I don't want her to transform at school, but I also don't want her to not come to school. So, there's that Wolfsbane Potion, very difficult to make, but it would benefit her so much. Do you think you could make it?" All it took was one breath and she got all that out.

Although a bit stunned, Neville comprehended it all. He shook his head and agreed to make the potion. Hermione thanked him, and ran to McGonagall's office to tell her the good news. When she got there, she bumped into Draco at the door. He told her McGonagall had gone to St. Mungo's already, and he was supposed to find Hermione to bring her, too. She followed him through the fireplace.

McGonagall was there waiting for them, and they walked into a room where Grace was sitting on a bed.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked in a calm voice.

Grace stared at her with eyes lacking their usual charisma. "I'm a werewolf." She said emotionlessly. "I'm never going to be normal again."

"Well, you never were too normal to begin with," Draco stopped as Hermione glared at him. "Er... But you'll be fine."

"I can't ever go to school again. People are going to hate me."

"That's not true," Hermione whispered softly. "You can still come to school, nobody knows you were bitten. They all think you were suspended."

"But what about nights of the full moon?"

McGonagall cleared her throat. "A few years ago, there was a teacher at Hogwarts who had lycanthropy. Professor Snape made him Wolfsbane Potion, and he didn't transform unless the moonlight shone directly on him."

"NO!" This was the first show of energy Grace expressed. "Not Snape! He hates me! He'll poisin it! Please, please don't tell him!"

"No need to worry about that. I already talked to somebody about making the potion. Neville agreed to do it."

"Longbottom? Er, Granger, you had Potions with him..." Draco said slowly.

"He's improved greatly. I trust him with this."

"So be it. Mr. Longbottom shall make the potion, and we'll all keep Grace's secret. Now, you two get out of here. Miss Sirfalas and I have some talking to do."

Hermione touched Grace's hand lightly before following Draco into the hallway.

"Longbottom?" Draco repeated. Hermione gave him a chiding look.

"Well I say... Is that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy?" A feeble voice acquired their attention. Dumbledore stood smiling at them. He pulled of his hat and whispered something to it. After a few uneasy glances between Draco and Hermione, Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I always told them this would happen. I just knew it," his attention returned to his hat briefly. "But you never believed me, did you?"

"Sir...?" Hermione began.

"Now, if you kids will excuse me, we have some nasty, nasty business to take care of."

Draco smiled. "The greatest wizard in the world."

"Even the best have to grow old."

They walked together to get back to Hogwarts. Somebody grabbed Hermione's arm. "Would you like an autograph?" Hermione recognized that smile anywhere.

----------

_He said yes, he'll do it. He's already on his way._

_-Harry_

And that was all he wrote. Hermione read the bit of parchment again and again. It was only one of the several notes Harry had sent her, she kept the rest (along with Ginny's) in a chest in her room. There was also three in there from Ron. Only three. And Hermione distinctly remembered writing at least nine to him.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Startled, Hermione shoved the note into her pocket before Draco could see it. Not that it mattered.

"Well, why not? I think it'll be good for Grace."

He shrugged and accompanied Hermione on her way to Hogsmeade. It was a little more than a week after the events of Halloween. In town, they found Grace and went to wait outside of The Hog's Head. Nothing was said among them. A few moments passed, and Hermione indicated a lone figure walking down the road toward them.

"Is that him?"

"I believe so," Hermione answered Draco. She turned to Grace. "His name is Remus Lupin. He taught Defense Against the Dark Arts years ago. He's a wonderful man, and he also suffers from lycanthropy. He'll answer any questions you may have."

Grace nodded. She hadn't been her usual bouncy self since that night.

"Hermione! It's nice to see you!" Lupin hugged her, then shook Draco's hand. "Hello, Mr. Malfoy."

"Ahem, Remus. This is Grace, the girl I told you about in my letter."

"Nice to meet you, Grace," Lupin extended his hand. Grace stared at it, but did not take it. "Let's go for a walk, shall we?"

Hermione pushed Grace forward encouragingly. She walked with Lupin while Draco and Hermione stayed behind for a while. "I think this will be good for her."

"I hope you're right."

At first, Hermione just accepted his response as a normal, nice-person thing to say. Then she remembered who said it. "Is that right? You, Draco Malfoy, care about somebody? You even look concerned." She didn't mean for it to be offensive, but rather teasing.

Draco, however, didn't take it as a joke. "I do care. I am concerned." He paused, refusing to look at Hermione. "What if she's never happy again? What if she distances herself from others? She lost something she'll never get back. She needs to accept that what happened can't change, but she can make the best of it. Who knows? Maybe she'll be a better person for it."

"I see. I didn't realize that you..." What? What didn't she realize? That he was human? That he was capable of caring for anybody else? She didn't continue.

"Hermione?" He caller her by her name. There was a determined look in Draco's eyes. Whatever he was trying to say, it must have been difficult for him. "What happened back then can never change. I can't undo the past anymore than you can, but I can apologize. I... I'm sorry."

Somewhere down the road, Grace and Lupin could be heard laughing.

Sorry... He was sorry? Well, he should be! But... Why did he say it? It wasn't like him. She wasn't ready to forgive him. She didn't know if she could forgive him. Hermione, not knowing what to say, did the only thing she could think of.

She turned and walked away.

----------

Thanks to Sam for helping me remember the decorations for Halloween.

I just don't know how to write these chapters anymore! Like, I'm not sure what should happen, how they should act. I'd really appreciate any suggestions, or criticisms, or approval if you think it's okay... Ugh, I don't know. I promise in the next chapter everything will be revealed. It'll be another flashback type chapter.

Thanks for reviewing! VOLLEYBALL, (Well, on Thursday, we did alright for our first time playing. We're a new team, and only Gary and I really knew what was going on. You're doing fine! Like one of our opponents said, when we 'click' we'll be 'the team to beat.' LoL Anymoo, I'm glad you liked the way I portrayed you. I had fun with that!) slyswn28, (You make me smile. Yeah, those comments were carefully planned... okay, okay. So, they were thrown in there at the last minute. I think they worked well enough. I'm extremely flattered that you like my story better! Silly Quiddich... It's a good thing we authors hold the keyboards, eh? Otherwise, we might actually have to follow all of J.K.'s rules... ewww. LoL xrocks onx) Silverwolf130492, (Thank you so much!) SmilinStar, (I updated! It took a while, but it's there! Teehee... Draco is being very weird. I promise everything will be revealed in the next chapter!) Liz, (Merow. That's for Buyo and Katie. xpokex You can tolerate Ponce now! Sorta. xwinkx I'm really glad you like it. To make you and Sam like this story is probably the greatest achievement I'll ever... achieve. Sam, because she's more of a Draco/Ginny person. Pfft, I say to that. Pfft. And you, because you detest Ponce. Yay.) and Aubrie. (AUBRIE! I LOVE YOU! Thanks for reading this! I'm glad you liked it. Yeah, I was sorta modeling the class after Chemistry. I'm glad you read it!)


	8. Prince Charming

Hey there! England was amazing! I loved it! We stayed in London, but we travelled to York, Bath, and drove through Bradford-upon-Avon and Wilshire on our way to and from Bristol... I think. If you ever get the chance to travel there, you really should. And for those of you who live there (ahem, SmilinStar) lucky you! I think York was my favorite place. Oh, I bought two British editions of Harry Potter. I bought _Philosopher's Stone_ for Aubrie and _Prisoner of Azkaban _for myself. I spent way too much money, but I had fun doing it! Mind the gap!

Anyway... In this chapter, I have flashbacks woven throughout. They're italicized, but I'm not going to make it that simple for you! Sorry, but they aren't in any particular order. The first isn't first, but the last is last. Er, yeah... Also, they're kinda vague, and not in-depth because, well, just because. Have fun!

Let me know what you think. I personally think it's... terrible. Maybe I'll fix it someday. (As I add that to my List of Maybe's.)

Chapter 7: Prince Charming

"So, are you over Professor Malfoy now?"

Grace blushed. "Well, not completely. I still think he's absolutely gorgeous!"

Hermione smiled. They hadn't spoken since he'd apologized to her, but Hermione had changed her attitude toward him even more. "Well, I guess I don't have any room to make fun of you for liking a teacher. I had a crush on my professor in my second year. He was such a putz, I can't believe I liked him!"

"I think I'll always have a soft spot for Malfoy. He helped to save my life. As for Remus," Grace blushed. "He's smart, he's funny, he's nice, and Merlin, I wanna shag him."

"GRACE! I cannot believe you just said that! Do you realize that he's old enough to be your father?"

"Yes, I do, but... I find him rather attractive. Don't worry, though. I don't think that I really have a crush on him. I just respect him so much! He completely understands what I'm going through because he deals with it, too."

Hermione relaxed a bit. "I'm glad that you feel that way. Respect, I mean. I'm also glad you're laughing again."

Grace agreed. They finished their game of chess, Hermione won easily. (Living with Ron does that to you.) From Hermione's classroom, they could see the Quiddich field. Large flakes of snow danced around the window. They watched the students head toward the field.

"Nervous?"

"Not really. Now, drink up!"

Grace made a face at the potion. "It smells bad. It tastes even worse."

"Better than growing fur." Hermione joked. She watched as Grace plugged her nose and downed the rest of Neville's concoction.

She shuddered. "Blegh. Horrible stuff." With a spell, she cleaned the cup. "See you at the match!" Hermione nodded. Grace ran out of the room, probably heading for the Ravenclaw common room. She'd spent the entire morning with Hermione, arguing about the detestible potion.

Hermione put away the chess pieces before getting ready to leave. She went back to her room to check on Crookshanks. When she opened the door, he was sitting in the middle of her bed. He did his 'lost kitten' meow before curling up for a nap. The cat was mental. Hermione threw on some layers before leaving.

Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. Nothing to worry about, Hermione told herself as she left. She didn't particularly want to make an appearance right away. Instead, she wandered around the school. After minutes of not knowing where she was headed, Hermione found herself standing in front of the door to the Room of Requirement. Where it all started...

_Draco pulled Hermione by the hand. "Where are we going?" She asked quietly. It was late, and they were supposed to be asleep._

_"You'll see," he answered in a secretive whisper._

_"We went by here three times. Are you lost?"_

_He finally stopped to open the door. "No, I'm not lost." Hermione recogized the room. It was the one chosen for when Dumbledore's Army held meetings._

Hermione could see it all happening before her as she remembered it. She watched herself follow Draco into the room. Why had she followed him? She must have known what would happen, she wasn't _that_ innocent. Why had she done it? Did that make her just as guilty as Draco? No... It was his fault. He took advantage of her.

She was late! She hurried out to the Quiddich field and took a seat among the teachers. She saw Draco sitting below her, but he didn't look up to see her. Why did it matter to her? Hermione asked herself, confused.

* * *

"Congratulations, Hermione!" Hagrid boomed at dinner that evening. "I was gonna say somethin' earlier, but you hurried out so fas' I couldn't talk to yeh."

"I had something to take care of," she lied. Hermione waited for the inevitable. Draco would sit beside her. They wouldn't talk to one another. It had been that way since their trip to Hogsmeade. She waited. And waited. And... Bloody hell, where was he?

Draco didn't appear at the meal, and Hermione excused herself early. She was NOT going to look for him! She was tired, and she wanted to be alone for a bit. So why did she find herself pulling out the Marauder's Map? Oh... she was just curious. Honestly, she wasn't worried.

And yet, she searched frantically around the area she remembered she'd seen his room. He wasn't there. Not worried, not worried, not worried, she repeated to herself. She scanned the map, and quickly saw his whereabouts. What was he doing on the astronomy tower? He wasn't hurt, was he? Hermione broke into a run, bounding up the stairs as fast as she could.

_"Happy nine month anniversary, Hermione!"_

_Ron led her up the staircase. When they reached the top, Hermione saw a blanket spread out. They watched the sunset, then covered up to observe the stars. The night had no moon, but the stars shone persistently. That was when Ron made a move which Hermione found inappropriate, and told him so._

_"What did you think was going to happen tonight, Ron?"_

_He stated that they'd been together for so long, and he thought it'd be okay. She argued that she wasn't ready. Their feud continued for days. Hermione wasn't sure they'd ever speak again, and she told Draco all about her concerns. Why? He was there. They spent every night in the same dormitory doing homework. Thinking back, if he had no other redeeming qualities, Draco was a good listener._

"Draco?" She screamed as she opened the door.

He didn't stir. He was resting serenely, head inclined toward the sky. His eyes, however, were closed and his breathing was soft and even. Hermione finally caught her own breath when she discovered he was alright. For Merlin's sake, the man was sleeping! And here she was running up to, what, save him? Her worry changed to anger.

Anger? What did she have to be angry about.

Draco, of course! Why was he sleeping up here? Why didn't he come to dinner? But most importantly...

Why did she care?

She didn't! Well, not really. At least, she didn't think she did. No, it wasn't that. She didn't want to care, but she did. Finally, she realized her feelings. She was still upset, but not enough to harbor a grudge against him any longer. After all, he had apologized. But she still didn't totally forgive him. She still needed to know why.

Draco sighed, reminding Hermione of his presence. She shivered. It was freezing up there! When she looked at him again, she noticed the blankets covering him. Should she wake him? The next shiver creeping around her encouraged her to do just that.

Slowly, she walked over to him. He looked so peaceful, so innocent, so handsome; Hermione could almost understand why others were attracted to him. Almost. And only because he didn't scowl, smirk, or make rude comments while sleeping.

Merlin, was he handsome. He was even charming while he slept- No, no Hermione. Focus. How to awaken him... Not wanting to frighten him too much, she tried to be subtle. She whispered his name to wake him but he was sleeping too soundly. She poked his shoulder but he didn't stir. That was it! Hermione was too cold to fuss around much longer. She grabbed hold of his arms and shook him. When that didn't do the trick, she slapped his face. Oh, for Merlin's sake, he was still sleeping!

Finally, he yawned and stretched out beneath the blankets. "Granger? What are you doing?"

"Saving you, apparently. You could have frozen to death up here."

He seemed amused her response. "It's not funny. It's cold. What were you doing up here anyway?"

Settling back under the covers, he ignored her question. "I didn't realize it was so late. I must have missed supper." His eyes, which had eased closed, suddenly fluttered open. "How did you know I was up here?"

Hermione smugly replied, "I have my ways."

"Okay, better question, why did you come looking for me?"

"I was worried," Hemrione unintentionally blurted out. To cover up her slip, she redirected the conversation. "You should get inside before you freeze."

It didn't work. "You? You were worried about me?"

"Don't think me heartless, of course I was worried! For good reason, too, I think. Now, let's go before you freeze to death."

"I'm just fine right here."

"You're going to-"

"Hermione," she liked the way he said her name, "listen to me. I'm fine. Don't believe me? Get under here."

"Excuse me?" She almost screamed.

"The blankets are charmed. They're warm. You, on the other hand, look blue. And your teeth are chattering. I'm not leaving, but you're welcome to stay."

She couldn't explain why she didn't go downstairs to her room. She couldn't explain what compelled her to lift the blanket and lie next to him. But she did it. He was right, the blankets were warm. She immediately felt the cold leave her and the heat consume her.

"What were you doing up here?" She asked again.

His breathing was even, but he didn't speak. She elbowed him. No response. She rolled onto her side and saw that he'd fallen asleep again. Sighing in exsasperation, she returned to her back and looked up at the sky. Years ago, she watched a moonless sky with Ron. Tonight, however, she watched the full moon while Draco slept next to her.

After what seemed like an eternity of wondering what she was doing up there, she drifted off to sleep. Before she lost consciousness, or maybe it was after, she dreamed she heard Draco speak. "I'm sorry," was all she heard, or thought she heard, before drifting off.

The sunlight slowly awakened her. Morning? Hermione sat upright, and regretted it right away. The morning air was frigid and she immediately shrunk back under the covers. Only then did she remember where she was and why she was there. She looked over her shoulder and saw Draco, still sleeping. She envied his ability to sleep so well, not even Ron slept like that. Her back ached with rigidness, and she couldn't justify her reasons for not going back to her bed the last night.

Draco yawned, drawing Hermione's attention. "Good morning," he mumbled, a bit disoriented. "Did you sleep here all night?"

He was just as surprised as her. "I must have. I think I'll go get something to eat." She ran downstairs as quickly as possible, but stopped on the steps. She heard Draco descending behind her.

"Not that hungry, Granger?"

_"I think you should forget about Weasel. All you do is fight anymore. What kind of relationship is that?" Draco dragged Hermione through the school._

_"All you and I do is fight, Draco, and we get along," Hermione joked. "I'm not going to forget about Ron. I love him."_

_"Not so loud, we aren't supposed to be up. Are you sure?"_

_"Am I sure what?"_

_"That you love him."_

_"Yes," she answered almost too quickly._

_"If you loved him, you wouldn't be following me right now."_

_"Where are we going?"_

"I guess not," she said uncertainly. "I need to ask you something."

"Go on," Draco urged.

_Blood. There was blood._

_"You're a virgin?"_

_Hermione glared at him. "I _was _a virgin, Malfoy."_

"Why did you apologize?"

Draco paused and stared at her. "Because I want your forgiveness."

"But why?" She persisted.

He thought for a moment. "You're the only person who actually takes me seriously. Not much has changed since then, I guess. You seem like a person who could care less about me, but I need your approval. You do that to me."

Her eyes glistened, threatening tears. "Why?"

He sighed. "I am so sorry, Hermione. I was such a jerk, I was arrogant, and I knew how girls felt about me. Then there was you. The only one who didn't want me. Naturally, I had to have you. Merlin, I was arrogant. Even then, you were the only one who took me seriously, but I took advantage of you. I can't undo what happened, but I can apologize."

There it was. Sincerity. It was in his voice. It was in his eyes. No more games. He was apologizing, and Hermione knew he meant it.

"If you hate me, I completely understand. I can live with that, but I can't live without your forgiveness. Once again, I have a need for your approval. I can't explain it."

Hermione smiled. "I forgive you," she whispered.

Without hesitation, Draco pulled her into a strong embrace. "Thank you," he breathed. When they pulled apart, they were both grinning. "So, does that mean we can get along now?" Draco asked.

Hermione should have known his apologetic mood wouldn't last long. It was obviously difficult for him to utter an apology, and she wasn't very surprised when his usual behavior returned.

"I suppose it does," she agreed. They lingered a while longer, smiling at each other. "Er, I should go now." Hermione excused herself. For some reason, Ron came to her mind, and she suddenly felt like writing to him.

"Do you still love him?" Draco called down the stairs. Did he guess her intentions?

There was no quick answer this time, but there was an answer. "Yes, Draco. I still love Ron." That was the truth.

The question he should have asked was, 'Does he still love you?' That was a question Hermione didn't know the answer to. Too many letters had gone unanswered, and the feelings they once shared were being tested. But Christmas was coming up, and Mrs. Weasley invited her to a get-together. She and Ron would see each other there, and everything would be fine. Everything would go back to normal. Right?

* * *

I apologize for the quality of this chapter. It's short and... stupid. I'm going to blame that on the fact that I gave myself a deadline, and didn't start the chapter till a few days before. Ugh, I hate procrastination. Wish they never would have invented it. LoL I know... I did update a few days later than promised... but I had a lot of make-up work to do. Whoa. I have an excuse for everything, I swear. Ever need help with an excuse? Consult Mandi!

Please review!

Thanks for reviewing! MRS Remmie Russell-Lupin, (We went to England! Get working on your tangent! As soon as you write it, I'll plug it. LoL) Kathea, (I love using suspense. Do you really think people would have read this far if I hadn't had something to hold over their heads and say, "Wanna know what happened, dontcha? You're just itchin to know, arentcha?" Mwahaha.) slyswn28, (I shall have good time, I'll be with my best friends! Poor Aubrie, though. We're leaving her in America. xrocks onx) Liz, (Apologize to Katie for causing the disruption. Meh-reh. Eh... Sam will get over it. She should expect me to take jabs at her. xbehind Sam's backx Isn't she cute? Anymoo... Glad you like the way I make my characters act. xnudgex Someone tolerates Pooo-oonce. xdoes the Liz tolerates Ponce dance till Liz does the smacks Mandi THWAPx) Smilin Star, (Glad you enjoyed it! You live in England? Awesome. LoL) and Aubrie (I missed you whilst in England! And, hey, Gracie asked for it!)


	9. Christmas at Hogwarts

Hey there. Yeah, last chapter wasn't that great. I apologize! But I hope you enjoy this chapter! This is honestly my favorite chapter so far. It's all fluffy, and happy, and cute, and... ugh, I'm turning into a sap. LoL Enjoy.

By the way, did y'all happen to see the new cover for the sixth book! I'm so excited!

Disclaimer: Ugh... Oh! _Tamsin_, by Peter S. Beagle. Own nothing dealing with it. It's an awesome book, though, so check it out. NOW! I used the name in this chapter, hence the reason for the disclaimer. Liz and Sam both recommend it as well. READ IT!

Chapter 8: A Lonely Christmas

"Happy Christmas, Professor. I'll see you next year!" Grace winked as she picked up her bag to leave. Hermione smiled and waved. Grace was going home to visit her family and explain everything about her new disease. "I invited Remus to visit during the holidays so he can explain other things about lycanthropy to my parents."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh... I'm sure that's why you invited him."

She giggled before hugging Hermione and running for the train.

Aubrie came to stand beside Hermione. "Grace told me what happened, and I'm glad that you and the other professors are keeping her secret," Aubrie laughed. "You know, she actually seems excited about it. But I think that has something to do with that Remus-person she keeps talking about."

Hermione agreed. "So what are your plans for Christmas?"

"We're going home. Right now, I have to wait for Abbie and Kyle. We'll most likely just have a family get-together on Christmas. I can't wait to get home to see my sisters."

"How old are they?"

"Gracie's going to be three, and Brianna's seven. If you're here long enough, you'll have my entire family."

"Must be nice to have such a big family," Hermione mused.

"I like it most of the time. But there are times that I'd do anything for a little peace and quiet."

"I feel the same way about some of my classes."

They talked until Abbie and Kyle appeared, then Hermione saw them off. After the train departed, Hermione went back to her room. She didn't plan on taking a nap, but petting Crookshanks made her lazy. Within minutes, they were both asleep.

_Hermione Granger..._

She stirred, a soft rapping noise guiding her to consciousness.

_Hermione Granger..._

Louder this time, and Hermione opened her eyes. She sat up when she realized someone was at the door. The knocking persisted, and Hermione let the little house-elf, Tingle, enter the room.

"Tingle is sorry to disturb Hermione Granger, but Tingle has a letter. This crazy little bird was outside of your door. Why it didn't use the window, I don't-"

"Pig? Tingle, where's the letter?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Here, Hermione Granger," she handed her the small piece of parchment.

_Hermione,  
__Can't wait to see you. We have a lot to talk about. Sorry about not writing often. I've been busy. Hope you're doing well.  
__-Ron_

Okay... ignoring the fact that it was short, lacking complete sentences, and rather rushed, Ron wrote to her. Tingle's exit went unnoticed by Hermione who read the letter again and again as she walked around her room. She tucked it into her pocket next to the Marauder's Map, checked a clock, and hurried down to dinner.

A single table was situated in the middle of the Great Hall, seating 19. McGonagall was at the head of the table, Snape to her left and Hagrid to her right. Draco sat next to Snape, Neville by Draco, and a few students filled in the rest of that side. There was an empty seat between Hagrid and another professor Hermione did not recognize. She had long, silver hair that she wore in a braid, and she was staring intently at her cup of tea. Thousands of beads decorated her wrists, neck, and ears.

"Ah, Professor Granger, please join us," McGonagall smiled. She took the seat next to Hagrid, and put food onto her plate. Hermione recognized the professor next to her as soon as she started speaking in a soft, misty, distant-sounding voice.

"There is great uncertainty in your future, child," she said, adressing Hermione as she put on huge glasses.

"Well, there's news. Are you sure about that? Uncertainty in someone's future? Well, I've never heard of such a thing."

Trelawney glared at McGonagall. Her voice was normal when she said, "I mean that she'll experience uncertainty, and probably is already. In her near future, she'll be faced with a difficult decision."

"Hmm, and so will I. The ham or the bird?" Hagrid grabbed a bit of both just to be sure he didn't make the wrong choice.

"You may all mock me," the misty tone returned, "but Miss Granger will find this next week to be a difficult one."

"With her doing readings at dinner, I think we're all in for a difficult time," Snape said, not even trying to be quiet.

Trelawney ignored his comment. "Talk to me later, if you wish, and I'll explain further."

Draco winked at Hermione, shaking his head in disbelief at the old woman's words. Hermione smiled. She didn't wish to talk to Trelawney later, she didn't wish to have it explained further. But apparently, Hermione's wish didn't matter.

Trelawney basically stalked Hermione out of the Great Hall and cornered her when they reached the second floor. "You will experience a deep hurt in the near future. If you come with me, I may be able to help you more."

Hermione listened, an eyebrow raised to show her skepticism. "Is this a joke?"

"Beg your pardon?"

"Are you trying to get back at me for dropping your class?"

She acted insulted. "Of course not. This is serious. Someone very close to you will hurt you. My advice is to turn back to a familiar friend."

"Okay. Will do. Thank you very much."

"Do you not believe me?"

"Wait, did the tea tell you what would happen? Or maybe I had something on my hand, or maybe that cloudy thing around me told you something."

"Your _aura_, you mean. Do you not believe that people have the Gift to see the future?"

Hermione had no trouble believing others had the Gift, but Trelawney was simply insane if she expected anybody to believe _her_.

"I don't have time for this," Hermione hurried away. Trelawney called something after her, but Hermione didn't hear the 'advice' she had to offer.

Tingle stood in front of Hermione's bedroom door, holding another letter. She didn't understand why the owls couldn't seem to find her. For Pig, it was understandable. But for capable owls, like Hedwig, leaving letters with a house-elf was odd.

The letter was from her parents. They wished her a Happy Christmas, and said they would be away, skiing, during the holiday. She'd already known that because they invited her to join them. She refused, planning to spend the holiday with Ron, Harry, and Ginny. Not right now, though. Before the break, she had assigned a lot of homework. She also promised to have it all corrected. What was she thinking? Better now than later, she supposed.

She usually didn't mind correcting homework. Truth be told, she enjoyed it. Tonight, though, she just wasn't in a mood for work. She couldn't wait to see her friends again, and she dreamed of how she and Ron would patch up their earlier dispute.

For the second time that day, a knock interrupted her dreams. She opened the door and saw Draco standing in the dimly lit hall. He smiled.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay. Don't listen to anything that woman says."

Hermione nodded. "I know better than that. I swear she's out to get me. She always had something against me."

"It's because you're so logical. What she teaches isn't based on fact, and that's where you two disagree."

"I'm not completely skeptic," Hermione defended herself. "I wouldn't be here today if I didn't believe in any of the supernatural world. I used to be a muggle, remember?"

"How could I forget?"

Crookshanks crept next to Hermione and stared curiously at Draco. He meowed quietly.

"What's wrong?" Hermione picked him up. She noticed that, since they arrived at Hogwarts, Crookshanks seemed much healthier. He still enjoyed sleeping, but his arthritis didn't bother him as much. "You remember Draco, don't you?"

He purred lightly. Draco and Crookshanks met each other when Hermione brought Crookshanks into their room. The mischeivous cat made it a habit to sit on Draco's parchment, refuse to move, and later walk away with half of Draco's essay on his arse. Draco insisted Hermione leave the cat in the Gryffindor common room, but she continued bringing him along.

"He's getting old. Isn't it about time you get a new cat?" Draco asked.

"He isn't _that_ old," she protested. "I could never give him up."

Draco had to smile at her passion for the cat.

After conversing a while longer, they said good night, and Hermione watched Draco disappear down the corridor. Okay... she had to admit, he wasn't _that_ bad to look at. Ever since he proved he had a heart, Hermione had let herself think pleasant thoughts about him. She even started considering him as her... friend. The smile never faded as she got ready for bed.

* * *

Hermione wished the Headmistress Happy Christmas.

"Have a nice time!" McGonagall waved. "Wish everyone a Happy Christmas for me!"

Hermione smiled as she stepped into the fireplace. In a few seconds, she was standing in the Weasley's house. Memories filled her as she set her eyes on her friends.

"Hermione!" Ginny yelled, making her way through the entire Weasley family over to where she stood. They hugged. "Ron, Harry," she called through the room. "Come see who's finally here!"

Harry came into sight, and Hermione saw Ron beside him. They both hugged her in turn before Mrs. Weasley drew her into her own tight embrace.

"How have you been, dear?"

"Great, actually."

"And how's the school?"

"I love teaching."

"That's wonderful," the older woman smiled warmly.

Mr. Weasley announced that it was time to eat, and everybody made their way into the dining room. Among the several heads in the room, Hermione spotted an unexpected one.

"Elizabeth?"

The girl turned around. "Hermione!" They hugged. "How have you been?"

"Fine, just fine," she answered, unsure why the girl was here. Ginny fidgeted anxiously as she stood next to Hermione.

Elizabeth talked about working at the library, and how much she loved it. She looked so happy, the smile never leaving her face. Her presence still confused Hermione.

"There you are," Ron said. Hermione turned and smiled, but her expression soon gave way to shocked understanding as he reached for Elizabeth. The only thing Hermione could think about was leaving the house right away.

Ginny took care of that, grabbing Hermione and pulling her into another room. "Ron... didn't tell you," she said slowly. "Did he?"

Her silence answered that question. She remembered the note he sent. So that's what he needed to talk to her about.

"For how long?" Hermione demanded.

"Since September. I'm so sorry."

Hermione laughed uneasily. "Don't be sorry, Ginny. It's over between us, Ron's allowed to date whomever he chooses. It just... took me by surprise, I suppose."

Ginny wasn't convinced. "Are you ready to go back in there to eat? Or do you need a bit more time?"

"Time for what? I didn't come here to eat. I just came to visit briefly, my parents are expecting me soon. I connected the floo network to their house specially. I told them I'd visit with them today," Hermione lied awkwardly.

"If you say so. You're welcome to stay as long as you like, Hermione. You can come back, too." Knowingly, she added, "Nobody should be alone on Christmas."

She thanked Ginny politely, and then went to tell Mrs. Weasley the same lie. She excused herself quietly, wishing her best to everybody before she traveled through the floo network once more.

She ended up in her classroom at Hogwarts. Alone. On Christmas. Wandering over to the large window, she stared out into the huge mass of white. A sudden urge to walk overtook her, and she bundled up quickly. She crept quietly through the corridors and avoided the Great Hall. The icy air greeted her outside, but it didn't bother her.

Ron was seeing somebody? He'd been with Elizabeth since September? The girl looked so happy, Hermione couldn't hold a grudge against her. Ron, though... Why didn't he just tell her? She felt stupid for having written to him so many times, and it was now oh so obvious now why he didn't return her letters.

She felt betrayed. She felt hurt. Why? Hadn't they agreed to move on? They did agree to, but Hermione didn't think they actually would. She expected they'd see each other again, forget their fight, and fall back in love. She thought they'd pick up right where they left off, but that didn't happen. Hermione couldn't understand it. They were supposed to be together forever...

Hermione scolded herself for having such a childish thought. She and Ron argued constantly, and that wasn't a healthy relationship. They loved each other, she thought, but now she realized it was more of a comfortable feeling they shared. They were used to each other. Remembering back, her first week back to Hogwarts was a difficult transition. For years she had Ron around her when she went to bed and when she woke up. At first, she didn't notice the feeling because she kept herself busy with school. Now, on Christmas, the loneliness consumed her.

Slowly and aimlessly, she strolled around the grounds. Hagrid's hut was empty. He was no doubt at the Great Hall. Everything seemed dead, adding to her sense of loneliness. She walked over to the lake, now frozen, and sat on the ground. Hermione barely noticed the crunching of snow approaching until it stopped right behind her.

"I thought for sure you'd be visiting the Weasleys today, Granger."

Back to calling her Granger. "I was already there. I just decided to come back early. I have a lot of work to do," she didn't even look up at him.

"Sorry I didn't realize you were so busy," sarcasm leaked from his voice. "I can never tell whether people are working or simply sitting and doing nothing," he jested.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Hermione snapped.

He took a seat next to her on the ground. "Not at the moment, I don't. I could ask you the same thing, though. Shouldn't you be in the Great Hall with the others?"

"I just want to be alone right now," she declared into her knees as she put her head down.

"Alone? But it's Christmas. You should be with friends, drinking, smiling, laughing, having a good time. Isn't that what you're supposed to do?"

Hermione finally looked him in the eyes. Suddenly, she was reminded of her past. How many times had Ron upset her when they were dating in school? More than she could count. Everytime, though, she'd always turn to the same person. Not Harry, Ron was his best friend. Not Ginny, Ron was her brother. It was always Draco who would listen to her. And here was again; history has a way of repeating itself.

"You can talk to me, Hermione." Draco encouraged her. "I'll listen."

It felt so familiar to her, and she couldn't stop herself. She told him everything about her decision to teach, Ron's reaction, their agreement, the unanswered letters, and then what she found out today.

He listened to her, he watched tears fall roll down her cheeks, he helped her to her feet when she felt better, and he escorted her to the Great Hall. She'd never cried in front of him before because she knew he'd see her as even more inferior. This time though, she couldn't help it. And, honestly, she didn't think he minded. He smiled as he opened the door for her.

The decorations were gorgeous! There were twelve trees, beautifully embellished, and live faeries were flying around. There were a few suits of armor lit up, as well. It was clear some of the teachers went all out this year.

"STOP!" A student yelled across the hall. The sound echoed in the room. Draco and Hermione froze. The student, a sixth year Hufflepuff, had a smug look on her face. "I've been waiting for somebody to stand there all day!"

Neville and Hagrid laughed jovially. McGonagall giggled and winked at Hermione.

Draco and Hermione gave each other confused looks before the Hufflepuff girl continued her explanation. "Look at what you're standing under!"

They looked up to see... mistletoe. Draco smirked and Hermione blushed. She turned her face away from him.

He grabbed her hand and whispered softly, "Hermione, it's a Christmas tradition."

She was too embarrassed to look at him, but he guided her face toward his, holding her chin lightly. She smiled as he lowered his head, catching her lips with his. The kiss ended before Hermione realized she didn't want it to. He gave her his most charming smile, and led her to the table.

They sat across from each other for an awkward meal. She couldn't help looking his way, and she often found him staring at her. Merlin, she was acting like a school girl with a crush! But this was fun, new, exciting, and quite possibly just what Hermione needed.

She excused herself early because she wanted to get back to Crookshanks. It was as if he'd been expecting her. He sat at the door, swishing his tail, and walked around Hermione's feet when she closed the door.

He hadn't done that in so long! Hermione was happy to see him display any sort of energy, and she lifted him to kiss his nose. He purred and she smiled. "I love you," she cooed, making the pitch in her voice higher than normal. Crookshanks didn't notice.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" Hermione asked, opening the door. They'd gone out before but he didn't seem to enjoy the exercise. Today, however, she imagined he would.

The ginger cat escorted Hermione through the corridors, avoiding any staircases, and must have gone back and forth a dozen times. Eventually, Hermione just stood against her door as Crookshanks ambled around in circles. He stopped and looked over the steps. Hermione doubted he'd attempt it, but her curiousity grew. Crookshanks waddled back to Hermione and she looked up to see Draco coming up the stairs.

She scooped Crookshanks into her arms and greeted Draco.

"I have something for you," he said.

It was then she noticed he was holding something.

"What is it-" Hermione gasped.

He was holding a grey and white kitten!

"I thought Crookshanks might enjoy the company."

Hermione laughed. "I seriously doubt that. It was difficult enough for him to tolerate Pig, I don't think he'd appreciate a kitten."

"You can't keep her?"

"I don't think Crookshanks would like it if I did. Oh, but she's so cute. Look at her little ears!" She tweaked them.

Draco shrugged. "Well, I got her for you for Christmas, but I guess I'll have to keep her."

Hermione looked disbelievingly at him. "I have a feeling that you had no intention of giving this kitten to me."

He smirked. "I did intend to, honestly. But that was before I got to keep the little bugger for a while."

She smiled. She couldn't believe this was the same Draco Malfoy she went to school with.

"Did you give her a name?"

"Cat."

"Cat? Couldn't you be more creative?"

"Kittie?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"Well then, any suggestions?"

Hermione thought for a moment. She remembered a book she'd recently read with unusual cat characters. What were their names? Miss Sophia Brown and Mr Cat. They didn't suit this kitten. What was the name of the book?

"How about Tamsin?"

"Tamsin?" He looked at the kitten and she licked his nose. "We like it."

* * *

Sorry. I didn't know how else to end it. Let's just say they said good night and smiled a lot, shall we? LoL I got really un-creative toward the end, and I apologize. But I thought it was cute, and figured I should stop before that changed.

Read _Tamsin!_ Peter S. Beagle!

Please review. Let me know what I'm doing wrong, what you like, etc. This story's almost over (about three or so more chapters?), and I want the last few chapters to be better.

Thanks for reviewing! SmilinStar, (I can't wait to go back to your part of the world! Liz, Sam and I are bringing Aubrie next time. I think our next adventure will be the summer we graduate, maybe. That'll give us enough time to save money, and maybe I'll grow up by then. Hmm... Naah.) slyswn28, (xhugs the British editionx I'm kinda glad to be back in the States... I can be loud over here. Over there, we were told we had to be polite and quiet. Not good for me for an extended amount of time. Glad you liked the last chapter. I... didn't care for it much. Haha. xrocks onx) DaNnYsBaBy11, (Thank you!) Athena Linborn, (Scotland is going to be a stop on our next adventure! I can't wait to go back. Anyway... No, you're not thick, I just kept it really vague... for some odd reason. But, yeah. That's why he took her there. Thanks for reading!) Liz, (Teehee. Sam helped me come up with that one. Buyo! I wuv her! Thanks for reading. Oh, and, please refrain from kicking Ponce. I don't care how much you begin to tolerate him, you may not kick him. LoL) and Aubrie. (Hey sweetie! Thanks for reading this. Yeah, I used Merlin in previous chapters. Haha, she has grown up, I suppose. I know you disapprove, but this storyline has been in my head forever. Had to get it out.)


	10. Just for Fun

I'm not dead! Betcha thought I was...

I am so so so SO sorry about the slow update for this chapter. Please don't hate me...

Just as the title suggests, this chapter is 'just for fun!' Some plot development, but it's mostly for kicks and giggles. And a lot of coo-age should go on, too.

Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Harry Potter. I got the game in this chapter from an episode of Lost. I love that show! The idea came to me about a week or two after I watched it, though.

Chapter Nine: Just for Fun

"Tamsin!" Draco yelled at the mischievous kitten. Her ears twitched, but she didn't look at him. "Tamsin!" He repeated.

It was too late. Poor Crookshanks didn't stand a chance. The kitten pounced on his tail. Surprisingly, the older cat didn't seem to mind. He looked a bit disgruntled, but he didn't take much notice of Tamsin.

Hermione laughed and Draco apologized, standing up to get the kitten. Hermione grabbed his arm. "Don't worry. If she bothers Crookshanks, he'll let her know."

"I'm sorry about that, Hermione. She's been so bad lately! The other day, when I left for class, she snuck out when I had the door open. I didn't realize it until I went back later to visit her and she wasn't there. I found her investigating the door to Snape's classroom. I don't think he would have been too happy to see her there."

Hermione giggled. "She's quite the curious one, isn't she?"

Draco scoffed, obviously thinking Hermione's comment was an understatement.

They were sitting in Hermione's classroom enjoying lunch. It was Sunday, and they were relaxing from their first full week of school since the Christmas holiday. Tamsin, now bored with Crookshanks' indifference to her provacation, pranced over to play with Hermione's robes. She scooped her up at Tamsin's protest. The kitten pawed at her.

"She's so sweet, and such a beautiful cat," Hermione commented.

Draco smiled. "Sweet isn't exactly how I'd describe her." He stood up and walked to the window. Hermione joined him having given up on placating Tamsin long enough to hold her. Many students roamed the grounds, enjoying the snow. Some were building snowmen, and others duked it out in a snowball fight.

"Would you like to go out there?" Draco suggested.

Hermione thought about it. "And risk getting pelted by a snowball?"

He laughed. "Who would try to hit you? I can't imagine you have any enemies in this school."

"Not anymore," Hermione replied. "But what about you? You have all of the students. They can't all like you."

"And why not?" He acted offended.

Some things never change. Hermione recognized so many different things about Draco, but his old character sometimes resurfaced. He often smirked, and he couldn't help acting arrogant. True, his arrogance was mostly in jest, and Hermione didn't mind it so much anymore.

They ended up walking outside together. Hermione didn't get pelted by a snowball, but Draco did. Naturally, he retaliated, hitting the student in the face.

"Draco, grow up!" She started until she too got hit. She scooped up some snow and packed it into a ball. "Oh, that's it!"

It was Draco and Hermione against all the students now, and they were terribly outnumbered.

They put up a struggle until Draco grabbed Hermione's hand. "I think it's best we retreat now," he laughed, leading her away from the battle. The students hooted and hollered about their victory.

The two that escaped could barely talk because they were laughing so much.

When she regained some control, Hermione spoke. "Come on, Draco. We can't just let them win like that. Let's get them back."

"My thoughts exactly," he smirked, a look of satisfaction on his face. They went into the forest to put their plan into motion.

They emerged a few minutes later, making their way back to the castle. They passed the snowmen, the snowforts, the snow soldiers (a.k.a. students)... all the while holding their hands up in submission. When they reached the castle, they turned to look at the students. They stared back. Draco nodded to Hermione, and they both pointed their wands and yelled an incantation.

_"Niveus mobilis!"_

At their words, every snowman came to life and began attacking the children with snow. The students screamed and ran around the grounds for a while. When Draco and Hermione finally calmed down, they said another incantation to stop the madness. There wasn't a face outside that wasn't smiling.

On their way back inside, Hermione spoke. "We win," she said triumphantly.

----------

Hermione assigned homework to her class, much to their dismay.

"Why does it seem like all the teachers are out to get us?" A Gryffindor boy asked.

"Because we are," Hermione winked. "It's not that much, and it's very simple if you were paying attention."

The discussion ended, and Hermione dismissed the class.

Grace and Aubrie approached the front with their oh-too-familiar sly smiles. Hermione looked at them, preparing for whatever they had discovered now.

"So, Professor," Grace began slowly. "You seem really chipper all of a sudden. How are things with Professor Malfoy?"

"Not bad, Grace. How about you and Lupin?"

The curly-haired girl blushed, so Aubrie continued. "You two have been spending a lot of time together."

"The last time I saw him was Christmas!" Grace yelled.

Aubrie and Hermione stared at her. Aubrie finally said, "Grace, hun, I was talking about Professor Granger."

"Oooh..." The blush deepened.

Hermione laughed and Aubrie shook her head. "Anyway, what's been going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Grace, having returned to an almost-normal colour, gave her input. "You're together all the time! Ever since we came back to school. We were just wondering if something happened during the holiday."

"That's absurd. Professor Malfoy and I have a strictly business relationship." Hermione lied, keeping her composure calm.

There was a knock at the door. Hermione welcomed the interruption. "Come in!"

Correction... She did welcome the interruption, until Draco came through the door.

"Hermione, I needed to ask you a favor."

The girls at least looked pleased as Hermione blushed. "We'll see you later, Professor." Aubrie said with a smile.

"Yeah, behave until then," Grace added.

"Next time you see Remus, tell him I say hi, please."

Hermione received her desired effect as Grace's face turned one hundred shades of red, and the girl stumbled out of the classroom.

Draco, looking confused as ever, just shook his head.

"I'm sorry, what did you need?"

"Could you watch Tamsin tonight? I have a detention to take care of, and I don't want her to be alone for so long."

"Draco, she's a kitten. She loves being alone."

"That's exactly my point," he said with exacerbation.

She laughed. "Of course I'll watch her."

"Thank you."

He stayed there for a while just to talk. As students started coming in, they said good-bye to each other. Draco had his own class to attend to.

----------

On Saturday, Hermione made a trip to Hogsmeade. She wandered around Honeydukes Sweetshop. Everything looked delicious. She bought quite a bit, the total cost coming to eleven sickles and seven knuts. She walked out thinking, "I just spent nearly twelve sickles on candy. I am a pig."

She let her thoughts wander to Ron. How was he? What was he doing? Was he happy with Elizabeth? She guessed he was fine, he was probably at work, and he was definitely happy with her. He wrote a letter to her after that incident at Christmas. Hermione didn't read it. She put it straight into the box with all the other letters from her friends and families. Two more came from him, but Hermione hadn't read those either.

Truth be told, she missed him. She missed everybody. Fortunately, she kept herself busy. Correcting homework, playing with Crookshanks, kitten-sitting Tamsin... and just spending time with Draco helped to keep her mind off Ron.

Hermione found herself sitting at the Three Broomsticks. Well, she'd just spent all that money on candy, why not have a drink or two? She felt like binging on much un-needed things at the moment.

Someone took a seat next to her. "I don't see you here often."

Without looking up, she replied. "I didn't know you were a regular here, Mr. Malfoy."

Their eyes met and they smiled. "What are you up to? I never thought I'd see the day Hermione Granger would sit at a bar and buy a drink in the middle of the day."

She protested. "It's not the middle of the day. It's at least five o'clock."

"Maybe it's five o'clock somewhere, but we're on London time."

"Where's Tamsin?"

"I convinced Snape to watch her."

"Really?"

He laughed. "No, not really."

She rolled her eyes. "Care to join me?"

He sat next to her and ordered a Firewhiskey for himself. A smug look on his face told Hermione he had something on his mind.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about playing a game. It's called "I've never..."

Curious, Hermione decided to encourage him. "I've never heard of it before."

Draco drank from his glass. "That's how you play." At her look of confusion, he continued. "It's to get to know someone better. You say 'I've never blahblahblah,' and if it's true for both people, no one takes a drink. If it _isn't_ true, then you take a drink. Usually, you try to get the other person to take a drink. Get it?"

"Maybe..."

"I'll go," he thought for a moment. "I've never cheated on a test." Hermione looked shocked.

"Well, have you ever?"

"Of course not!" She yelled. "Have you?"

"Then take a drink. And now it's your turn."

"Have you ever cheated?"

"Do you see me taking a drink?"

She was surprised, but she drank anyway. Their game continued. "Er, I've never... failed a test."

Draco laughed before taking a drink. "That Ancient Runes teacher didn't like me. But, come on, can't you come up with something more interesting? Like... I never danced alone. In my undies."

Hermione rolled her eyes as she drank. "Once," she admitted, trying to hold back her giggles. "I've never worn pink," she said, taking on Draco's signature smirk.

Grudgingly, he raised his glass to his lips. "I knew it!" She giggled.

"I've never kissed Ron Weasley."

"I've never kissed more than three people."

Draco took a drink. "Three, eh?" She gave him a smug look. "I've never been in love."

"That's sad," Hermione said as she took a drink.

"Yeah. Look how happy love made you," Draco said. He regretted that immediately. "Hermione, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

She stopped his apology. "Oh well, you know what they say. 'Better to have loved and lost than to have...' well, you know how it goes," she smiled reassuringly.

"It's your turn, Hermione."

She thought for a moment. "I've never slept with someone I didn't love... at one time or another."

Draco didn't move. He lowered his gaze.

"You mean to tell me that you loved all those girls you bedded?"

He shook his head. "You don't know, Hermione. I thought you'd be smarter than to believe those rumors. I've only been with two other women. And yes, I think I loved them at one time."

"I don't understand. I thought you-"

"Rumors, Hermione. I'll admit, I was quite friendly with a lot of those girls, but I never slept with any of them while we were in school."

Hermione apologized quietly, feeling like a judgmental idiot. Months ago, she wouldn't have believed Draco. She would have believed the old accusations. But, hearing it from him now, she felt sorry for having doubted him.

He got up to leave, placing enough money to pay for both of their drinks on the counter. Hermione followed him. "Do you believe me?" He asked after they walked for a few minutes.

"Yes. I do now."

"Thank you. That means a lot to me, to have your approval."

They smiled at each other. Draco put an arm around Hermione's shoulders. She blushed when she realized something. The last thing she'd said was 'I've never slept with someone I didn't love at one time or another.' She didn't take a drink. Did Draco notice? He didn't take a drink either. What did that mean?

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Hermione said softly. They'd both just confessed they loved one another.

Merlin, when did that happen?

----------

Thanks to Liz for helping me come up with some of the "I've nevers..." Okay, not my best chapter. Sorry. I hope you enjoyed it anyway. I should be wrapping this story up in a couple more chapters.

Please review!

Thanks for reviewing! Blood-Red-Pen-Tip, (Our teacher all advised us to 'keep a low profile.' Haha, we Americans tend to be louder than the British, from what I've noticed. Omg... I can't wait to go back!) SmilinStar, (You are such a good writer! I read your one-shots, and they were absolutely adorable! I see now that I'm not the only fan of fluff, lol. Ahem... write more stories soon!) Liz, (Glad you noticed the tweak-age. And hey, your character isn't a jerk! I tried to make it seem like she was happy, and Hermione couldn't be upset with Elizabeth. I don't understand why that "cat...kittie" thing reminded you of Mike, lol, but okay. You may coo all you like!) Aubrie, (I love you! Draco is sweet, and he's gonna be the perfect kind of guy for the rest of this story! Thanks for the suggestion. I've decided to not change my chapters, though, once they're already written. That way I have something to remember how terrible I used to write when I'm a famous author. ...What unrealistic dreams? Thanks, sweetie.) tammie, (Aww, thank you! Your compliments flatter me, I'm blushing. Eh... I'm not that discouraged. A bit disappointed, but it's not a terrible turnout. I'm lucky, though. I've had two reviewers since the beginning, and I think that's really cool. SmilinStar and slyswn28. They always make me happy!) slyswn28, (I'm not sure why I gave him a kitten... was just in the mood, I suppose, lol.) ElfLuvr2931, (Princess Gracie... you're a goober. Draco/Ginny... ugh.) and HPaggie09. (Thank you!)


	11. Charming the Prince

Hey there, for those of you who haven't deserted me. I'm so bad with updates! Shame on me, I'm so sorry! This chapter's really long, though. I think it's my longest yet...

Now for a quick commercial break.

Mandi: Hey all! Feel like reading a new fic about everybody's favorite werewolves? Well, you are now able to read the journal of Grace Sirfalas. Get inside her head. (A scary place, believe me.) Find out what the author of this bloody fic you're reading right now isn't telling you about Grace learning to be a werewolf, and discover the actual relationship between she and Remus. Enjoy _Dear Journal, I'm a Monster_, http/ written by my be-love-ed Samantha Grace. Tune in! (By the way, if you check out that story, and you're a fan of LotR, read _Three Girls, No Guys, and a Piece of Cardboard_. Liz, Sam and I co-wrote it. It's funny and absolutely pointless.) Now, back to our scheduled programming.

Disclaimer: I don't own. I merely borrow.

Chapter 10: Charming the Prince

Crookshanks was curled on Hermione's lap as she corrected homework. His steady purring, the warmth emmitted from the fireplace, and the soft light from the candles around her had a soporific effect on Hermione. She nearly fell asleep. Finally, she decided to put the homework aside and try to wake herself up. It was early in the evening; the sun hadn't set yet. She drew back the curtains, allowing the natural light to invade the room. The cool glass felt pleasant as Hermione lightly touched the window. She smiled to herself, something she'd been doing a lot lately.

A knock at the door begged her to leave the window. She half-expected (half-hoped) to see Draco. Tingle, however, stood there with a letter in her hand.

"Just come this morning, miss," Tingle said happily. Hermione took it, thanking the little house-elf.

It was from Ginny. A Happy St. Valentine's Day wish, with news about other things involving the Weasley family. It delighted Hermione to hear about Fleur's new baby girl, and Gina's baby boy.

She pulled out the box where she kept the other letters. There they were: Ron's letters laid unopened, and Hermione fought her curiosity.

Unfortunately, she lost the battle. She read the first letter. It simply stated that he was sorry for not telling her about him and Elizabeth. The second said the same thing, but asked for a reply. Then she read the third letter.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I don't know how many times I can apologize, but I am sorry. Since you haven't returned any of these letters, I'm going to assume that you haven't read them yet. I'm going to take a guess now: When you finally read this letter, it's about two months after I sent it. Am I close?_

_Hermione, I still love you, I always will. Somewhere along the way, though, I started falling out of love with. You felt the same, I could tell. Even the way you looked at me, weren't in love. We had gotten so used to having each other around. I admit, I missed you when you first left. Hell, that's why I met with Elizabeth. I spent a lot of time at that library, remembering the times we would meet there. Elizabeth would sit with me, not wanting me to be lonely, and we became good friends._

_I'm sorry for not returning your letters. I realize now that I was still upset. I honestly didn't want you to leave, and I didn't think you actually would. That was selfish of me to force you to choose, and I apologize. I hope you're happy, though, and I hope you never regret leaving. It's too bad things didn't work out between us, but I still consider you as one of my best friends. I hope you live out your dreams. I know you will, that's how you've always been. Never settle for less than you deserve._

_-Ron_

Hermione wiped a tear from her eye. He was right about a lot of things. First of all, it was almost two months. Another thing, they had fallen out of love with each other. Hermione wasn't sure when it had actually happened, but she could remember the feeling. They were together, they loved each other, but the stronger emotions had long since faded.

His words comforted her, providing some kind of closure to that chapter of her life. She couldn't explain it, but Draco was the first person to enter her mind after that thought. Draco Malfoy... the boy she'd hated her entire life, the boy who'd hated her, the boy who'd insulted her, the boy who'd taken her innocence... Hermione had begun to love him, and she couldn't wait to see him again. She wouldn't wait long, though. Supper was about to begin.

She looked at the letter again, and noticed writing at the bottom.

_P.S. Ginny tells us there's somebody at the school that you fancy. Take a chance._

Hermione guessed that Ginny failed to mention that that somebody was Draco Malfoy.

----------

Hermione stood in McGonagall's office. She could remember standing in the same spot, in her seventh year, when Dumbledore was still Headmaster. That time she'd been in trouble for a small prank she and Draco pulled at the Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw Quiddich match. She giggled thinking about it. They'd spent the entire night before hexing the stadium seats, and let's just say Dumbledore wasn't impressed. Their bit of nonsense cost them a week's detention with Filch, picking off every scrap of material that still stuck to the seats. Hermione only agreed to it because she lost a bet with Draco involving who got the better grade on a test. (Hermione decided the terms; if he did better on the test, she would participate in the hoax. Draco decided they would compete for the better grade on a Potions test; hence the reason Draco won.)

This time, though, Hermione wasn't in trouble, and Draco wasn't standing next to her. McGonagall sat at her desk, shuffling through a few papers, then finally addressed Hermione only to tell her to take a seat. She did and McGonagall went back to her work.

A minute or two passed before she finally explained to Hermione why she was there. "How is the young werewolf, Grace? How is she doing?"

"I believe she's getting on quite well."

"Has she told anybody else about the disease?"

"Her friend, Aubrie, knows."

"And she can be trusted with the secret?"

Hermione thought for a moment. Aubrie was Head Girl, after all. "I believe she can."

"Splendid. Now, the reason I called you here," McGonagall said in a business-like tone. "I needed to ask a favor. I've been informed about a registration process for werewolves. I'm not sure I'm too fond of the idea, and I would like you to talk to Grace and Aubrie about it. Tell Grace not to do anything about it until we receive further information. Mr. Lupin has agreed to check out the source."

As if on cue, Lupin appeared through the fireplace.

"Ah, just the man I need to talk to."

"Good evening, Headmistress," he smiled. "Hello, Hermione. How's Grace?"

"She's fine."

"Miss Granger, would you please go talk to Grace right now? I don't think we should wait."

"Why don't you invite her up here?" Lupin suggested. "That way we may have a chance to answer any questions she may have. No offense, Hermione, but I doubt you have that much knowledge about this particular subject."

McGonagall gave a curt nod. "As you wish. Would you please bring her here, Miss Granger?"

When Hermione returned with Grace, the young girl ran to hug Lupin. Hermione excused herself and headed back to her room.

While walking in the corridor, Hermione thought she heard a jingling noise, as if from a bell. The noise faded, and she didn't give it another thought.

When she returned to her room, she noticed a note had been slipped under the door. Slowly, she picked it up. She sat on her bed, next to Crookshanks, and read to herself:

_Meet me at the Astrology tower on V-Day._

_-Your Secret Admirer_

Hermione couldn't stop smiling and blushing as she prepared for bed that night. She'd have to find a gift soon.

It was still on her bedside dresser the next morning, and Hermione wrote a similar note.

_What's in it for me?_

_-The one you secretly admire_

She marched down to breakfast and took her usual seat next to Draco and greated him as she normally would.

"Know anything about this?" She handed him the note she'd found the previous night, still clutching her own note. "I found it slipped under my door."

He didn't smirk, but maintained a straight face; the first give-away that it was from him. "You have a secret admirer, eh? Congratulations. As for knowing anything about it... I think I did see Filch around your room last night. Think maybe he's been harboring a crush?"

"I see. Well then, I guess I have a date for Valentine's Day."

They ate their meal in silence, and Hermione managed to slip her note into Draco's pocket without him noticing. The rest of the day seemed to drag on forever, but Hermione enjoyed it. Grace was in a mood similar to Hermione's, and it wasn't difficult to guess why. Lupin had spent the rest of the day with Grace, discussing lycanthropy.

"Hermione!" Someone called to get her attention. Neville stood in the hall, waving at her.

"Good morning, Neville. How are you?"

"Not bad. You?"

"I can't complain," she said, wearing a huge smile.

"What are you so happy about?" Neville asked with a knowing smile. "You look awful smitten to me."

"Maybe," she winked.

"That's great, Hermione, really. I know Malfoy used to be a jerk, but he seems okay now. It's almost like he's a decent human being. I'm really happy for you."

Neville... good-hearted, sweet, sincere Neville. If there was anybody other than Hermione, Harry, and Ron who Draco was especially nasty to, it was Neville. Hearing him say good things about his old enemy now convinced Hermione that Draco had changed. He'd made mistakes in his past, but he had been under the influence of the darkest of the dark wizards. Now free of that control, Draco proved he had a conscience after all.

"Thank you, Neville," Hermione hugged him.

"He talks about you a lot. Just about little things you say or do. You're real lucky, Hermione," she beamed. "Oh, and have fun on your date. I hear Filch is really looking forward to it."

He said good-bye quick and left Hermione gaping.

Nonsense. Neville must have been in on that joke. Yeah... that's right. Hermione hurried back to her room. She wasn't too surprised to find another note on her floor.

_Dinner, of course. And my company. What else could you ask for?_

_-Your no longer Secret Admirer (aka, Filch)_

Idiot. Hermione wrote back:

_You're not at all arrogant, are you? I might be there._

_-The one you admire, now no longer secretly_

She delivered it right away. Crookshanks joined Hermione on her trip down to Draco's room. She knocked on the door. There was the sound of jingling within. Draco finally answered the door holding Tamsin. She had a bell around her neck. So that's what she heard the night before.

Draco noticed Hermione looking at it. "She's... easier to keep track of this way." Hermione nodded in understanding. "Can I help you?"

"I found another note," Hermione said smoothly. "I thought maybe you could do me a favor, and give this note to my admirer."

"You mean Filch?"

"Of course."

"I'd be honored."

Hermione excused herself, she had a class soon. At dinner that night, Draco assured her that her admirer got the message.

The next day, Friday, was St. Valentine's Day. Most students were opening cards from their own admirers, sharing secret smiles. Their moods were much lighter than normal, but Hermione wasn't able to conduct a single productive class that day.

As soon as the last of her students filed out of the room, Hermione hurried to her bedroom chamber. She was ambushed on her way by a certain curly-haired girl. "Look what Remus sent me!"

Grace showed her a beautiful, mahogany box. It was rectangular, and had a lock on one side. The words _Keep your secrets safe_ were engraved under it. Grace opened it and Hermione saw that it contained a leather-bound book, probably her journal, that fit in there perfectly.

"I told him that I love wooden boxes, and this is absolutely perfect. And look! The lock has a special charm on it so that it will only open for me," Hermione noticed that it didn't have a keyhole.

"That's wonderful, Grace. It's very beautiful."

They talked for a while about their plans for the evening. Grace got her oh-so-familiar smile when Hermione told her about having a 'secret admirer.'

"Do you know who it is?"

"I have a pretty good idea," Hermione winked. They said good-bye, and Hermione hurried to her room. She took a bath, washed her hair, picked out a nice outfit, used some gel to make her hair more controllable, got dressed, and put on a bit of make-up. She inspected herself in the mirror. Not too bad, she thought. She would never be truly satisfied with her appearance, but she wasn't totally disgusted at the moment. That was always a plus.

Hermione kissed Crookshanks before leaving him. There was a knock at the door. Tingle again, this time holding a package. "Arrived a bit ago, miss. It seemed fragile, so I keeped it safe, I did."

She thanked the little house-elf. She'd been expecting this package; it was a gift she'd ordered for Draco. Tingle was still standing there.

"Miss, may I ask you a question?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Does this look like a proper Valentine's gift to you?" Tingle held out a knot of string. String that would usually be found on letter, delivered from an owl. Hmm, the mystery of Tingle's obsession with Hermione's mail finally revealed.

"My friend loves string. Do you think he'll like this?"

Hermione smiled. "I'm sure he will."

This made Tingle happy, and she ran down the corridor, obviously excited to give her gift. Hermione grabbed a warm robe before going on her way to the astrology tower.

By the faint light, she could see a figure by the tower stairs.

Filch?

Hermione panicked and cursed Draco at the same time.

This _had_ to be a mistake. There's NO way that Filch... ewww. What was going on?

Her confusion didn't last long. Draco walked up behind her and laughed quietly. She turned on him.

"Oh, you think you're so clever, don't you," she whispered. "I can't believe you got Filch to wait there!"

Draco tried to hold back his laughter. "I had nothing to do with that, actually. I swear! That did turn out perfectly, though. I couldn't have planned it better. The look on your face was priceless!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. She and Draco watched Filch. He didn't move.

"_What_ is he waiting for?" Draco asked, his patience wearing thin.

Maybe he planned to meet someone there, Hermione thought.

Five minutes later, Filch still hadn't moved. Draco made an annoyed grunt and touched Hermione's shoulder. "Follow me."

He led her down the hallway, and Hermione realized they were on their way to his room. Before reaching it, though, they heard muffled whispers. Students. They could just barely see the couple in the shadows. Obviously occupied by each other's company, they didn't notice their professors walking down the corridor. Draco started walking toward them before Hermione stopped him. "What? They shouldn't be out here."

"_We _probably shouldn't, either. What kind of example are we setting? Besides, who knows what rumors will go around if someone sees us out here."

"Oh for Merlin's sake," Draco growled.

They turned and started walking again. This time toward Hermione's bedroom. More muffled whispers. "What the bloody hell is going on?" Draco complained quietly. "Can't these kids control their hormones?"

Hermione giggled. "You never thought of sneaking out with a girl when you were in school, did you Draco?"

"Well... at least I had enough sense to find a room! I never snogged in the hall."

They headed toward Draco's classroom then detoured to Hermione's, running into students everywhere they tried. They even caught a couple sneaking into the Room of Requirement.

"Bloody hell, that's it," Draco said in desperate tones. Hermione followed him to the end of the hallway where he sat down. "Not exactly the romantic evening I had planned, but due to unforseen circumstances-"

"This is perfect," Hermione assured him.

Draco scoffed. "I'm sorry. Seems like whenever we get together you either get disappointed, get in trouble, or get chased by a blood-thirsty werewolf," he apologized.

"My life needs some excitement," she joked.

They ate dinner quietly and watched the sky through a window.

In an attempt to break the awkward silence, Hermione spoke. "I was in McGonagall's office the other day. I started thinking about that time you and I got detention for hexing the Quiddich stadium seats."

Draco laughed. "I remember that! Why did you do it, again?" Draco asked though he knew the reason. "Oh. That's right. You lost our little bet when someone got a better mark on that test."

"That's quite the accomplishment, beating me once," she didn't try to disguise the sarcasm in her voice.

"Yeah, but that test actually meant something. Even if you had beat me, I wouldn't have held up my end of the deal."

"I never doubted that."

Neither of them could remember what Draco's part of the deal was. They knew it was something simple and trivial, though.

"Do you remember the time that we sent flowers to Trelawney on Valentine's Day?" Draco asked.

"You mean that Fanged Geranium? I wonder how many times it bit her," Hermione pondered. "Oh, and that Devil's Snare that was labeled as a Flitterbloom."

"Or the time we swapped the Itching Cream for the cleaning solution in Snape's class-"

"And everybody broke out in hives!"

Draco nodded. "Pansy was absolutely devestated about that. She complained about it for weeks, even though they got it cleared up that day."

"I'm glad nobody ever found out we did any of that. Could you imagine what our friends would have thought if they'd have known that we actually got along most of the time?"

"Potter and Weasley hated me already. They'd kill me if they knew I was such a bad influence for their precious Hermione. As for my friends... Crabbe and Goyle pretty much accept anything that I say. Pansy, though, would have been a bit jealous." Draco stood up and offered a hand to Hermione. He helped her to her feet.

"How on earth did you get me to do all of that stuff, anyway?" She wondered aloud.

"It must have been my irrisitible charm," Draco answered, earning himself a jab in the ribs.

Draco held out his arm and escorted Hermione to her room.

"Thanks for... having dinner with me," he said as they stood in front of her door.

"Thanks for a wonderful evening. It turned out fine without going to the astrology tower," they shared a smile. "Oh, this is for you."

She showed Draco a wrapped parcel. He opened it carefully, and lifted a book out. It was the most recently released book about Quiddich, and he appreciated it. "I thought maybe it could help your team a bit. As they are right now, there's no way Slytherin will beat Gryffindor," Hermione teased him. Of course, that wasn't the real reason for the gift. Countless times, Hermione had seen Draco participating in Quiddich practice. He still loved the game.

"Ha ha, very funny. And I have something for you, too," Draco reached into his robes and pulled out a small box. Hermione's eyes grew wide as he opened it to reveal a beautiful gold necklace with a simple, heart-shaped ruby charm. Draco removed it from the box and fastened it around Hermione's neck. She held it gently, unable to speak. Draco grinned and kissed her on the cheek. "Happy Valentine's Day, Hermione." He nodded his head, and turned to leave.

Draco took no more than four steps before Hermione cleared her throat. "Would you like to come in?" She indicated her room. "It's no castle hallway," she joked, "but it is quite comfortable."

The dim lighting in the hall gave Draco's features a more distinguished look, making him appear almost devilish as he flashed a smile. Draco followed Hermione, closing the door behind him.

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Hope you all enjoyed it! Teehee... a bit of a naughty ending, lol.I'll work on updating, and I'll finish it soon, I promise. (Soon being some time this summer, of course.)

By the way, don't forget to check out Sam's story!

Thanks for reviewing! SmilinStar, (I hate to keep you waiting, and I'm sorry I'm so lazy! Write more fluffy fanfiction! I love 'em!) Her Royal Highness Princess Gracie, (Shoplifting? Nevermind. I won't ask...) anonymouz, (I really appreciate the review, but they had anonymous spelled properly for you! LoL I agree it's more customized now, but it's wrong! Haha. I'm a freak.) Blood-Red-Pen-Tip, (LoL Sounds like a plan. I'd love to visit England again. As soon as I graduate, I'm going back!) Liz, (Teehee, that Sam story sounds like fun. Tell Sean to shut up and get back in the closet!) and Aubrie. (Haha... it takes me a long time to update because... I'm lazy and I lack inspiration. Oh well. And, no, the game wasn't backwards on Lost. Remember, "I've never killed a man..." and they both drank. I got it right. I'll admit, it took me a while, though. Thanks for the review!)


	12. The Final Adventure

Hey all. Yep. After all this time, I figured I'd better end this story. This is it, and I hope I haven't disappointed anybody. By the way, the ending will be short and sweet, since J.K.'s release of HBP pretty much destroys the basis of my story. Hah. I'll have to create a cleverer way of getting Draco and Hermione together. Take that, Ms. Rowling! So, yeah. For this entire story, we have ignored the sixth book completely. Never happened. Thanks for staying with me, everybody!

Chapter 11: The Final Adventure

Draco and Hermione had been seeing each other for three months. Hermione sat outside in the warm, mid-May sun, but wore a cloak to protect against the cool breeze. A quill and a piece of parchment were resting on her lap. The parchment was nearly blank, _Dear Ginny_ written neatly at the top. She wasn't sure how to say what she needed to say.

Her thoughts drifted. She and Ron had reconciled, and started writing each other almost regularly. Hermione hinted at her new relationship, but never mentioned Draco's name. Surprisingly, Ron accepted her secrecy, and didn't push. _If it's serious, I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later,_ he'd written. That thought gave her a sinking feeling in her gut because of how true the statement was. The Weasleys and Harry were like her extended family. If this fling with Draco developed into something more, they'd expect to meet him. That'd go over well, she thought bitterly. She imagined the looks on their faces, but quickly banished the entire thought from her mind. Something scratched her leg.

Tamsin sat back and looked at Hermione. Draco appeared shortly after.

"Hey there," he sat down and kissed her cheek. "Homework?" He pointed to the parchment on her lap. Any other time it would have been, and her seventh years hated her for it. Well, she _had_ to prepare them for their N.E.W.T.s.

"No. I was trying to write a letter to Ginny. I got... distracted," to say the least. She hadn't even been aware of the jingling from Tamsin's bell as she hopped toward her. At a puzzled look from Draco, she continued. "I was thinking about us; mostly about how my family would react to our relationship. And by family, I mean the Weasleys and Harry."

"That'd go over well, I'm sure," Draco said with obvious sarcasm. "Well, they're just going to have to get used to it. Or... or we could run away, elope, hop across a few oceans, move to Antarctica, join a fishing village, live in an igloo, disappear and never see them again... It was just a suggestion," he added after an amused look from Hermione. "Seriously, though, you're not... ashamed of me, are you?"

"No!" Hermione said quickly. She continued, "I don't doubt it will be awkward, but I'm not ashamed of you at all."

Draco nodded, but remained reserved for the following half hour. During that time, Hermione managed to scribble _How have you been?_ onto the parchment. Tamsin, annoyed at the lack of activity, decided to explore the grounds.

"I'd better follow her, before she gets into trouble. Besides, I have to help a few students with their N.E.W.T.s. I'll see you around, Hermione."

He caught up to Tamsin, picked her up, and went back inside without so much as a glance in Hermione's direction. Well, she didn't have sympathy to spare on him; she'd told him the truth, and she wasn't ashamed. Why shouldn't he believe her? Anyway, Hermione was having similar doubts about Draco's acceptance of her. Had he even told his mother that he was seeing a muggle-born? Would he ever tell her? Hermione snatched up the parchment and her quill, and walked sulkily back to her bedroom chamber where Crookshanks lay on the bed, waiting for her.

Hermione sat down at her desk and continued writing:

_At the end of the school year, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I don't plan on staying at Hogwarts all summer, it's too isolated from everything else._

Did that sound obvious? Her intent was to encourage Ginny or Mrs. Weasley to invite her to stay at the Burrow. Would they? That hadn't been her first choice, of course. Though she loved the Weasleys dearly, she didn't want to impose on them.

_I have no place to stay. I need a house, or at least a flat to stay in. I'm desperate! I want to return to Hogwarts after summer, but what about the months in between? Oh, and I'm seeing Draco Malfoy. Ask your mother and father if he'd be welcome for dinner._

Abandoning her quill, she threw the parchment into the fireplace. She had to talk to Draco and, apparently, he felt the same way. He was standing at the door when she opened it.

"Er, hey. I, er, need to talk to you about something," he muttered quickly.

"Good. I need to talk to you, too."

They started walking to the Astronomy Tower, a favorite haunt of theirs. The empty halls made them guess that most students were busy studying for exams. Observation from the Tower confirmed this. Only a few clusters of students littered the grounds, and they all seemed centered around a pile of homework.

Draco cleared his throat. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

Slowly, Hermione nodded. "I don't know what I'm going to do in the summer. I have no place to live. I want to ask the Weasleys if I can stay there, but..."

"But you haven't told them about me yet," Hermione shrugged guiltily. "I was thinking about that, too. Where you would stay, I mean. Before you came here, you lived with Ron. That's not going to work out now, though, is it?" Draco slowed down, weighing his words as he spoke. "I was thinking that maybe you'd want to, I mean, since we've been together for a while- Wait. Hermione, I love you. I want you to know that before I ask you what I'm going to ask-"

"You're not proposing, are you?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"What? No, of course not! I'm not ready for that yet. I mean, not that I don't plan to propose eventually, but, I mean... Er, let me try again. Hermione, I want to buy a house, a nice house in the country. Would you like to buy a house with me? I mean, move in with me?"

Hermione smiled. She was relieved that he wasn't ready to propose yet, and ecstatic that he said he planned to. This was wonderful.

"Draco," she kissed him, "I love you too. And I'd love to buy a home with you."

Never before had she seen him smile with such happiness.

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_Dear Ginny,  
__I have wonderful news. Draco and I bought a house, and we'll start moving in next month. That's right. Draco Malfoy and I... We've been together for months, and things are going well. Keep this to yourself for a while, I want to tell everybody personally. I'm worried about the family accepting him, but I know they will. We're in love, and nothing will change that. I hope they're all well. I'll be visiting soon after we're moved in. Until then, this is our little secret.  
__Your friend,  
__Hermione_

All fears have been put to rest. Though she can never be sure what the future holds for them, Hermione knows that she will have Draco beside her for the rest of her life. This is just another adventure, one she hopes will never end.

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I hope you enjoyed it. Too bad it's NEVER going to happen. I hold no grudge against Ms. Rowling. Hell, this is what fanfiction is for!

Thanks for reviewing! The Linedancing Werewolf, (You're a goober. Enough said. Well, wait. Get working on your fic, and if you need me to proof it, I shall.) curlyqntx, (Glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing.) mysteriouscharm, (Aye, Draco and Hermione were naughty in their seventh year and 'did it' as you said. LoL. I know. I didn't really come out and say it. Sorry for the confusion, but thanks for the review!) Liz, (Silly goose, that wasn't the last chapter! This is! But, hey, thanks for reading this. I know how much you hate Ponce, and that means a lot to me that you didn't just ignore this story.) and Aubrie. (Aurbrerry! Thank you.)


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